An Emerald
by the new girl of lycanthropy
Summary: Kate is gone, along with any hope Niko had left. However, for the sake of his family, he's trying to move on. But when a new friend get's him involved in new gang war, he may get his heart- or what's left of it- ripped out. NikoxOC
1. Chapter 1

An Emerald  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

I certainly wouldn't have thought that I'd love an American.

Well, half American. She certainly wasn't proud of it, at least not at the time. But she was still one of the most...obnoxious people I'd ever met. There were many girls in Liberty City, and I could've been with one of them. But they weren't like her. Not in any way. To completely understand though, I suppose I'll have to tell the entire story. It's not a happy one...at least not in the beginning.

"Cousin!"

There went my cousin, shouting for me AGAIN. I was helping him out more at the depot now that Mallorie was pregnant. He needed money and customers, which were fine. But he needed mechanics and drivers to. So here I was, trying to fix his cars, and he's shouting to me every 5 minutes. The asshole.

"Cousin, what is it already?! You've been shouting to me about so many different things in the last 5 minutes, what is it now?!" Roman walked out of his office, and immediately put his hands up.

"Niko, calm down, Jesus. I just want you to meet your new coworker."

I stared at him. "Coworker? Hell, Roman you couldn't get someone to actually work for you unless you knew them, man. You're the most unprofessional guy I know. How would you hire somebody? Or at least somebody competent?"

"Heh, you know what, you're a prick Niko. But no, it's a friend of Mallorie's, and she's competent. Girl could go to college if she wanted, but where's the money? You know what I mean? So know she's stuck here with us." Roman looked like he was telling the truth, so when he motioned for me to go in to the office I followed. "She part American, but Cuban too. Friends with Jacob, you know. She grew up in suburbs, but cities are her thing. Too bad she had to end up in this shithole of home."

I was wondering about this girl. Cuban? Well, she wasn't related to Mallorie then, at least not in this city. Puerta Ricans and Cubans tended to leave each other alone; the way I'd heard it, they had respect for the other but not really friendship. But that didn't matter. What kind of girl would stay here? Stupid, maybe. But she sounded intelligent. Might as well give her a try.

"Does she speak anything? Besides English?" She should at least be able to talk with different people, especially if she was a taxi driver.

"Uh, yeah actually. One of the reasons I hired her. She actually knows, uh...4 languages."

That made me trip over a gallon of gasoline. 4? 4? Are you kidding? "Are you kidding? No way. No girl that would work here could know that stuff."

"Well, she does. And she wants to learn Serbian. She speaks English and Spanish, of course. But she learned French, so that's good with the tourists from Europe. And she knows...uh...Chinese."

This was too good to be true. And Serbian? "....Roman, who is this girl?"

He smirked. "I knew you'd like her, you prick! Wait til you see her, too! Pretty girl. But anyway, her name is Marie. And here she is..."

He opened the door, and the first thing I saw was her back. She was getting a drink of water, and when she turned around she looked surprised. I suppose she didn't expect to see me with Roman.

"Marie!" My cousins was as boisterus as ever, and probably excited that he had a new- and beautiful- employee. "This is the cousin I was telling you about, Niko Bellic!"

I got a first look at her, and even I had to admit she was beautiful. She had a dark brown color to her hair, and it looked natural. Her hair was of the wavy curls kind, even though it looked a little damaged. It was volumus, at shoulder length, and was nicely framed around her face. She wasn't skinny, and she fat either. She had a good build, and a nice body type. Her had high cheekbones, and her eyes were the same dark brown as her hair. Her lips were a little full, but it complimented her.

She gulped down the water, and stuck out her hand out. "Marie Hartman. Nice to meet you."  
I shook her hand. So she was used to being polite. She couldn't have grown up here. "Nice to meet you too. So you got hired by my cousin, huh? How'd he convince you too actually do it?"

She smirked, and glanced at Roman. "Well, Mallorie thinks he's nice. Is he really such an ass?" Even though she was smirking, I could tell there was caution in her face. She didn't want to offend him to early on.

But he wasn't offended. In fact, I think he liked that she was so forward. "Nah, just with my cousin. Right, Niko?" He grinned and stretched his arms in front of him, and sighed. "Yeah, I told my cousin here about how you wanna speak Serbian. It would be good, you know, just in case..." he trailed off. He meant to say just in case some Serbs came looking for him.

She raised an eyebrow, and glanced at me. "Really? Well what does he think?" She made me grin, but at the same time a little surprised. She seemed forward, but at the same she knew what to say, and when to say it. Of course, me and her were being quiet for a moment. Which made Roman stare at us both. "Uh, guys..."

I didn't want to be awkward. So I did what came to mind. "Да ли ме разумете?"

She blinked, but recovered quickly. "Uh...mало. I'm still picking it up. How's my accent?"

"Fine." I replied. After that, and awkward silence came over. Roman shuffled his feet, and Marie cleared her throat. After a few moments passed, Roman finally spoke.

"Well, Niko, why don't you show Marie around the city? She hasn't seen Bohan yet, and Mallorie wanted to visit her cousins there too."

Huh. My cousin was actually being smart. "Uh, sure. We'll take one of the cabs."  
Roman nodded, then went behind his desk to answer the phone that had started ringing. Marie glanced at me, and then walked out the door. I stared back at Roman. "Roman, cousin, don't tell me you want me to go out with this girl?"

He was talking very fast into the phone, but took it away from his ear for a minute. "Well, if it works...."

Asshole. "You ass." And as I walked out the door, I heard him chuckle.


	2. Chapter 2

An Emerald  
Chapter 2  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

"So, Niko" Marie started, as she drove towards the Algonquin bridge, "what's your story? All I know is that Roman told me to be careful. That some...stuff has happened lately." She looked over at me, and she looked cautious and caring at the same time. It was a strange look, at the very least.

"Well..." I didn't know what I wanted to tell her. I knew she wasn't in a crime family, since she wasn't from here. But there were the gangs...well, I might as well take my chances. "I killed the head of a- minor- crime family. Jimmy Pegorino, actually. And a Russian asshole, Dimtri Rascalov."

I looked back at her. She turned her head on the road, and was silent for a moment. I wondered what she was thinking. Her lip was slightly upturned, but she didn't look pissed. Then she spoke. "Well, I knew Dimitri."

What? "What?!" I hissed, clenching my teeth. Most people that knew Dimitri weren't very different from him. "How?! Are yo-"

"I'm wasn't involved with...with his jobs!" She snapped. NOW she looked pissed, offended, irritated. I guess she didn't have good connections with him. I relaxed, and took a deep breath. "Sorry" I said. "I just...I hated him. He put me through a lot of shit. Some goes for Pegorino."

She still looked offended, but smirked. "I understand. Dimitri has a tendency to do that to people. But I didn't know Pegorino. I mean, I've heard of the five Cosa Nostra families, but I knew he wasn't one of them. What'd he do to you?"

This is where my mind stopped. I couldn't think about it. Of all the things I'd been through, I couldn't get that one thing out of my mouth. I could still smell the blood, mixed with Mallorie's perfume which altogether made one revolting smell. And the feeling, that drop in my stomach I hadn't felt in so long that it nearly made me vomit. The sound in Patrick's voice when I told him....

"Open the window." I said, trying to not speak. Marie turned her head sharply, and her eyes narrowed. "Why?" Her eyes shifted to my belt, looking for what I knew was a gun. "Marie, I don't want to shoot somebody!" I spat out. "I'm gonna-" I felt a gurgling in my throat. The turn of my head was all she needed to confirm what I knew was going to happen, and she immediately opened it. The bile tasted horrible, but at the same time I didn't taste it at all. All I could think about was her face, how the look of shock was stuck there. I couldn't do anything for her....and came more vomit. And I knew why this particular incident still haunted me, above all the others. I loved her. And I knew that. And right after I knew that, she was gone.

"Niko? Niko?! Are you ok..." She stopped asking, and decided to find out herself. After pulling over on the street, she got out and walked over to the passenger door, opening it so I could step out. "Niko, you alright?"

After I stopped spitting out bad-tasting saliva from my mouth, I looked back up at Marie. She looked genuinely concerned. "It's nothing, Marie. I'm alright. Just...things that I remembered."

She looked confused at first, but then she got the message. "Aw, shit Niko. You don't need to tell me anything you don't want to. It's just Dimitri was an ass last time I saw him, so..."

"Yeah, I get it." I tried to smile so she would stop staring at me, but she wasn't going to believe me that easily. She let me go though. "Well, Niko, just let me know if you're gonna throw up again, ok? Besides, I wouldn't want you vomiting all over Mallorie and her cousin."

I had to smile at that. "Alright, Marie." After getting back in the car, I remembered what I was going to ask her. "So Marie, if you weren't WORKING with Dimitri, then how did you know him?"

Her eyes narrowed, and I almost though she might hit me. But she looked toward the road and started driving again. "We...we were...ugh, we went out a couple times." Eew. That made me WANT to vomit. "He was my boyfriend a few months back, but it ended with him backstabbing a friend, and I broke it off."

"Wow. Marie, I didn't think you were involved with...people. Important people, anyway."

She smirked. "Like what, the mobs? Rascalov's- sorry, Faustin's- crew? I know all about them. Bunch of assholes, but I have met a few decent people. And what makes you think I'm not involved in something like the drug cartels, crews, et cetera?"

"I don't think so. You seem smart. Smart people don't get involved in shit like that."

"You're a smart person involved in shit like that."

I turned my head towards her, and she looked me straight in the eye. And she was right, at least about the shit part. And after looking at her, I still couldn't think of any cartels or crews she would be involved in. I didn't think she would be with the Cuban gang in Algonquin, but you never knew. Apparently, the gang had the same name of their counterpart gang in Vice City. I had heard Roman talk about that place. He mentioned a gang, Los Cabrones, and they were supposed to be enemy No. 1 to the Haitians. There wasn't much else about them I had heard.

So she was right. But I still wanted to know for certain what kind of connections she had. "Are YOU involved in that shit?"

"I wouldn't say I was involved in it. I mean, I've actually been here awhile, but I've never left Broker, really. Unless it was with my friends, or 'important people'. I had relationship with a person important to it, but not much else." Huh? How many guys had this girl been with?? "How many boyfriends have you had?!" I exclaimed. She started to laugh, and nearly hit her head on the steering wheel, rocking back and forth. "What?" I asked again. "It's a serious question."

"I know, but it's just the look on your face! It's hilarious!" She kept laughing, and I was getting annoyed. Couldn't she just answer the question? Thankfully, she ended quickly. When she was done, she took a deep breath. Seemed like an explanation was coming.

"Ok, there was Dimitri Rascalov. Met him when I was robbing a gun shop. Pointed a gun right at my forehead!" she made a gesture with her finger to in between her eyebrows, "And I kicked that gun right outta his hand! You should have seen the bastards face! So after that, he got interested, and uh, we hooked up. Another guy was from Los Cabrones (huh, I was right). Guy was actually, like, the second-in-command, kinda. I met him through Mallorie. He started making jokes about my heritage at first, but once punched his wagging lips black and blue, he backed off. Then one night, we were at this party. We were both bored, so we decided to have a drinking contest. Of course, we both had our drinks spiked, so we didn't even know what was going on. Woke up next morning next to him in bed, and learned that his friends 'thought he looked like he was having a good time', so they didn't try to stop us. After I made sure I wasn't pregnant or something- I remembered that I always use birth control anyway- we thought, 'hey, why don't we try that willingly?' and after we did, we kinda became an item."

I just stared at her. After it was silent for a moment, she looked at me and did a double take. "What?" she questioned.

"Nothing." I said, "it's just that you don't breath when you talk."

She smirked. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

"Here we are. Right there..." I told her where to stop, but she didn't see. "Where?" she asked. "Right there." I answered.

She was still moving her head around. "Right there!!" I shouted. She finally saw it and pulled over. I looked over at her, and her face was bright red. I didn't know whether to be annoyed or snicker at this girls unobservancy. "Are you slow or something?" I joked.

"No!" she snarled, irritated. "I'm just a little unobservant." Exactly, I thought. "I mean, I can be spatially aware when I want to be, but...ugh!" She got out and slammed her car door. I laughed as I got out of the car, and laughed in harder when I saw the look she was giving me. I kept laughing until we got to the door to the apartment building. As I walked in, Marie kept looking around the area.

"What is it?" I asked, but she her eyes just kept darting left and right. I thought she was having some sort of seizure, man. Or worsem she was on some drug, heroin or something. But she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them back up. They were as bright as ever.

"Nothing" she half-chuckled, "I just thought I knew this place. For some reason I got a kinda deja vu feeling. But it's nothing." and with that, she started walking ahead of me. Of course, I just stood there until she stopped and turned around. She looked embaressed, again. "And uh...where is their apartment?" I chuckled; I couldn't help but laugh at her. I walked ahead.

"On the third floor. It's pretty nice, and it's a good size for two people and a baby coming." I explained this as we walked pass someone strung out on one of the stairs. I looked at Marie out of the corner of my eye to see what her reaction would be; I was surprised. She walked past them as if they weren't even there. Like she was used to it. "Roman actually got this apartment out of a deal he made with someone," I continued. "a game. I was surprised he actually one. My cousin is horrible at gambling; he's more likely to have a brick fall on his head then win a game." I heard her giggle as we got to their door. "So Mallorie was proud of him, to say the least." To be honest, she had been in shock. It was a good shock, but it was still shock. "Можете да разговарате, шта језике поново?" I might as well test out her Serbian a little more. She wanted to learn anyway.

She opened her mouth, but words didn't come out. Then she closed it, thinking of a reply. I thought it would take awhile, but it only took about 30 seconds. "Eh, језика? Српски, наравно. Спанисх .... oh, I don't know how to say Chinese." she stopped. But I smiled. She knew Serbian well. Which made me wonder...."Where did you learn Serbian, Marie?"

She smirked. "I used to be with Dimitri Rascolov, Niko. Don't you think I would have picked up a little Serbian from some of the people he would deal with?"

She had a point. A good one, at that. But Dimitri's name made me clench my teeth together. At seeing my disgust, Marie's smirk turned to a frown, and I could see the worry in her eyes. "Niko? Are you going to be si-"

"No!" I said snapped. "I'm fine!" Her frown turned down even more. I realized that I was making her become distressed, so I unclenched my teeth and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry" I muttered. "I just hated Dimitri."

Marie nodded, and patted my shoulder. "Well he's dead. It's over." Her words put me through a sudden sense of deja vu. I remembered what Little Jacob said; _"It's never over, iya." _I snapped out of it though, and I nodded. She half-smiled, and walked to the door. "And now Niko, I think we need to get Mallorie and take me on that tour."

I breathed deeply, then knocked on the door. "Right."


	3. Chapter 3

An Emerald  
Chapter 3  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

I opened the door and me and Marie walked right in. Mallorie was no where to be seen, but that was normal; she had been having a lot of morning sickness. I looked around the place. It went into a living room as you walked in, with an end table on one side of the room and a TV on the other. I saw a picture of Mallorie and Roman on their wedding day on the wall, and I walked into the kitchen to find a many cluttered pots and pans. It was always like this, messy, but nobody was about to complain to Mallorie. Normally she would rip your head off; pregnant, she would tear you limb from limb.

"Hello?" Mallorie called, then I heard her knock something over. A few moments later, she walked into the living room, muttering to herself. "....cono, lo que es un primo estupido que tengo- oh hey Marie!" Whatever she had said, it made her blush to know that Marie heard it. I turned in her direction, and saw her chuckling. "Hey Niko!" Mallorie chirped. She always seemed to find a happy voice for me and Roman. "Roman didn't tell me Marie was coming! Hey girl!" Mallorie walked right up to Marie and gave her a hug. They were obviously close, because Marie hugged back. "Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you but your address-"

"-isn't my address anymore." Marie quickly said. Mallorie's eyes widened for a second, but then she smiled. "Well Marie, all that matters is that you're here, right? Yeah! But are still with, uh..." Mallorie quickly murmured something to Marie. Marie's shook her head, and then she caught me staring. "Uh, and we're being a little rude. Niko, sorry about that."

"No problem. You guys haven't seen each other in awhile, it's alright." She smiled nervously. But whatever it was Mallorie was past it. "Well then let's get going!" She picked up her purse from a small table near the door, and walked out. "Oh, and Niko" she yelled, as she went down the stairs, "my cousin...uh...got into some trouble with the cops, so we gotta go somewhere else."

I jogged after her, with Marie close behind. When we got outside, Mallorie started looking around. "Niko, where's your car. It changes every stinking day-"

"Mallorie." I tried to get her attention, but she just kept talking.

"-and it's impossible to know which is yours-"

"Mallorie!"

"-and I just think that maybe you should buy one, to use permanently-"

"MALLORIE!"

It wasn't me that shouted that. That voice was too high pitched for me. That was Marie. And God, did she have one annoying scream.

Mallorie stopped talking, and stared at Marie with her mouth half open. I would've laughed if she hadn't looked like she were about to cry.

Apparently Marie saw this as well. "Mallorie, what's wrong? What happened?" She had genuine concern in her voice, I could hear it. Mallorie looked conflicted. Like she wanted to tell Marie, yet at the same time couldn't. "Nothing Marie. Just let it go, it's nothing important. Really! He was just being, you know, un idiota. He'll be....he'll be ok."

But Marie wouldn't let it go. She was a stubborn person, as I would soon learn just how stubborn she was. "Mallorie, spit it out right now. Whatever it is. I want you to tell me and Niko, because whatever it is it's making you distressed. I'm your friend and he's your brother-in-law, so just tell us." She sounded firm, and had a bluntness to her voice. Good way to talk.

Mallorie looked beyond nervous; Marie was right, she was distressed. She struggled with words, but eventually it all came out.

"Ok, look Marie, Niko. My cousin, Alfredo, is a drunk. He went out, had a good time, you know the usual. He ain't bad when he's drunk, just stupid as hell. So anyway, the guy goes out and he gets pulled over by the cops. Normally he'd just get taken in for a DUI or something, you know? And I don't know what happened, or how it happened, but Alfredo decided that the cop pissed him off so much that he deserved a punch. So he's in jail for assault on a cop, and I'm already worrying about that when...." I waited to hear more, but her mouth just stayed open without any noise coming out. That was a first; but it wasn't important. She wouldn't get this upset over jail time.

"Mallorie, tell us. I mean, it's not like he owes anyone-" Marie stopped short. A couple things happened at once after that.

Mallorie started crying even more. She was trying to stop, but it wasn't any good; she sat down near a car and went on crying. Marie's hand slowly went to her mouth, her eyes wide. Then she started counting something on her fingers, and murmured something about hundreds.

Being me, I stood there. Five minutes passed, and people were starting to stare. I didn't like that. "Someone spit the fuck out whatever is going on!" I didn't want to sound irritated, but I was. Mallorie just stared at me, still sniffling, but she looked back at Marie. She was obviously wanting her to talk, since she wasn't in any state to do so. I just sighed, and went to unlock my car. "Come on, let's go to a Burger Shot or something. I feel like punching these people, and I don't think we want the police close behind us." Not that the police would come for such a daily occurrence, but Mallorie got the message, and led Marie- who's eyes were getting buggier by the second- to the back seats with her.

It was a silent drive most of the time. There was a certain tension in the air, though. It was filled with frustration, or even annoyance; it was undefinable. I had a sick feeling in my stomach the last time I had felt that type of tension. In the helicopter, with Jacob and Roman....

I quickly pushed away the memory, and tried to focus on the people driving. Which was a good idea, since people in Liberty City can't drive correctly for shit. I had two people screech the line of traffic to a stop, and three others hit somebody. There was even a gunshot in the distance, but nobody cared; as long as it didn't get closer, the police wouldn't either.

All of this gave both the women enough time to collect themselves, and when I looked in the mirror I saw Marie breathe deeply, and Mallorie whispering something to her in Spanish. It was like the whispers of a sister; calm, soothing, but to the point, so much that it was perhaps a little annoying. Marie looked so than once, but not towards Mallorie. More towards whatever they were talking about.

Once we got to the Burger Shot, Marie was walking and breathing normally. I mean, I knew that she wasn't going to have a seizure or anything, so why was I so worried? It was probably just because of how quickly this had all happened.

I got us a table near the front, in case I needed to make a quick dash for the car. After Mallorie sat down, me and Marie walked over to order. There were a lot of people here today, so we had to wait behind some fat guy who kept making gurgling sounds. I didn't want to know.

"Hey, Niko...." I spun my head around to face Marie. If there was any time to figure out what was going on, it was now. "...I just wanted to say sorry for freaking out. It's just that....God, Niko, Mallorie's in trouble. Worse, this could include...." she didn't finished. She just kept staring at me. Like she was handpicking her words just for me.

That was irritating.

"Marie, you need to spit out the truth already! Do you know how irritating it is to have people tip-toeing around you?!" I said this so loud a few tourist looked at us. Usually I wouldn't care, but Mallorie, was leaning over in her seat too. I looked back at Marie, and I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time.

Guilt.

I don't know why; I'll explain later about how Marie wasn't one to be hurt easily. She would grow to be that way, anywho. But I looked in her eyes, and they were glassing over. They weren't particularly beautiful; an unusual, but not noticeable, dark brown. When they glassed over, it looked a little ugly. But she looked so sad; it was almost like she was doing it on purpose. Which she could; but not this time. I felt ashamed, especially for shouting at a woman who did nothing but irritate me. I thought of my mother, and what she would think. Thinking of my mother made me think of my father; that just sealed the deal on self-disgust.

"Marie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout..." What else could I say? I didn't usually apologize except to family. There was never any reason too. But I think she understood this, and nodded. She wiped her eyes, and half-smiled. "It's alright Niko. I need to tell you the truth anywho." For a split second, I saw her eyes dart in that nervous way she did sometimes. But just for a second. Then she took a deep breath, and began to explain.

"Alfredo got arrested by the police, right? Well, that happens all the time, so it usually wouldn't be a problem. But he owed money to people. People...I know." I heard something in her voice. Was it guilt? Regret? I couldn't tell. "Niko, these people are a gang called Los Cabrones. They're Cuban, and....it's not the top people in the gang, just a few small members, and they mean nothing really, but they could get the help of one of the higher ups. Niko, I know them personally. One of the higher ups." I was confused. Her ex-boyfriend?

"Your ex? Why would he be involved in something as small as this?"

"Oh no!" She exclaimed, waving her hands in the air. "Not Alvaro! No, he would never do that, he's not like that. But it's another guy, Diego. Him, he's....he's not an asshole, but he has nothing against bullying certain people either. But here's the thing: since Alfredo's in jail, and until he gets out, Los Cabrones these guys- there are like, 5- are going to bother Mallorie. They came by the apartment yesterday, and acted as they always do; polite when explaining, threatening when told that they weren't getting what they want. And they'll be back..."

So that was why Marie was near passing out. That was why Mallorie was so nervous, and I assumed Roman didn't know. She didn't want him to. She probably didn't even tell the guys she was married, let alone....oh crap. "Marie, did they know she was married or pregnant?"

"No. They couldn't tell, and if they saw any pictures of her and Roman, it wasn't a wedding day one for sure. She told me."

We were at the front of the line now. I got me and Mallorie a few burgers, while Marie just shook her head when I asked and got a soda; she didn't like hamburgers. Fun fact #2 about Marie (the first was the eyes).

And know I had to take care of these guys. I didn't want to kill them, but I couldn't have them threatening Mallorie like this. Something could happen. I didn't even know WHAT exactly I was going to do about Roman. But this was a tricky situation. All because of one thing.

The girl that was sitting right next to me.


	4. Chapter 4

An Emerald  
Chapter 4  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

Once we finished eating, I took Mallorie back home. She had already been put through a lot, and she was starting to get sick. During the drive, I turned on the radio there wouldn't be a heavy, awkward silence. But you could still feel the tension in the air, just hanging there.

Marie didn't go with Mallorie when we got to the apartment. Mallorie seemed better then before, at the very least. Marie had told her that they weren't coming back for awhile; they waited to let people...collect themselves, before coming again. So it was just me and Marie in the car. To be honest, I didn't even know where we were going. I was too busy thinking about what to do.

I could very easily have found these people (with a little help from others; maybe Packie) and made sure that Mallorie didn't have to worry about this. But Marie was here; and she was an employee. Roman need all the employees he could get, and besides, I liked Marie.

I shuddered. That's what made me nervous. I usually just let people pass me by, always. At least ever since...ever since Roman's wedding. But there was something about Marie that made her different. She could be a good friend.

Which meant for right now, I couldn't do anything.

* * *

"Marie, where are you staying?"

She was startled, since I hadn't talked to her since we were at Burger Shot, and I guess she thought I'd be upset. Not that I wasn't, but not with her. But I had just realized that I didn't know where she was living. I got (from the bits and pieces of her and Mallorie's conversation) that she HAD been living with...what was his name...Alvaro? Whoever it was, she seemed to had stopped living with him recently. It took her a minute to pull together her words, but not too long.

" Um, I'm...well, I'm living in an apartment in Broker- pretty far from Algonquin, I know- but I think that I'm about to be evicted. So..." she glanced down at her lap and wringed her hands. She didn't seem nervous, or worried. She just didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it. Which was normal; some people did, some didn't. It all depended on why they were being evicted and how. "Marie, why are you being evicted?"

NOW she looked embarrassed. Cautious, almost. Well, I wouldn't want to tell the world why I was being evicted either. "Well...I had some money trouble, and I asked my landlord to wait a few days before my rent was due. I wasn't expecting him to actually let me, so I was really, REALLY happy when he said it was fine. Until he told me I had to sleep with him."

Ooh. That's why. At first, I thought she was ashamed because she DID sleep with him. But knowing Marie, she wouldn't have done that. Not that it's right or wrong, just that she personally wouldn't have. "So, I hit him, and now I'm gonna be evicted...today."

I swerved slightly, which rocked her back in her seat. Someone flicked me off passing me by, but I didn't bother pulling out my gun. "What?!" I seethed. "What do you mean today?! Where are you going to go?! How are you going to work if you don't _have a place to live?_" I was annoyed; I mean, why would she leave this until the day she was going to be evicted? That woman was stupid right then and there. She didn't even answer me; she just frowned.

"I was just gonna find some other apartment, and ask them to let me in. People do it all the time Niko, don't freak out. It's not like there is a respectable apartment in the Bohan anyway." She half-smiled. "Now come on Niko, keep driving. People are starting to get pissed with how slow you're going." She was right; there was someone that looked like they were about to rear-end me. I sped up, but I kept thinking about her living in one of the low-life buildings. I knew people that lived in those places, but she was different. More refined, so to speak.

I was getting more annoyed, so I just let it go. Or tried, anyway. Since I, in my fury, had drove into an exit to Alderney, now I had to turn around and drive all the way back to Broker. Great. But I did get to ask Marie more questions. "Ok...so Marie, tell me about your personal life."

She raised her eyebrow. "Personal?"  
I chuckled. "Yeah, personal. You were with Dimitri Rascalov, this Alvaro guy, what else is there? I'll tell you mine."  
"Niko, why personal?"  
"Do you have something better to talk about?"  
She paused, and then started talking. "Well...I had a one-night stand with Alvaro, went out with him until two weeks ago," so that was how recent, "and I went out with Dimitri for about 3 months. Never been pregnant, though I got scared with this other guy I went out with, and never had an STD. Umm...I'm agnostic, uh...I lost my virginity when I was 20 with a guy I met at a party. And no, I wasn't drunk, I was in every state of consciousness you could be in. So...your turn."

Eh.... "Umm...I've gone out with a girl that turned out to be working for a secret agency, name Michelle; umm, a girl named Carmen, another named Alex, and another named Kiki. I first had sex with someone when I was 18, never had any issues, and it was a girl I was working with. I was completely sober. There was a girl that I got serious with too, but she..." I swallowed hard. I was just trying to get the words out. "uhh...her name was Kate."

Mallorie, or Roman, must've told her about this. Or maybe she just heard it around the city like everyone else; Little Jacob DID say everyone in the city was after Jimmy Pegorino. But however she did, she understood. "I know, Niko. You don't need to say it now." She shook my shoulder in comfort.


	5. Chapter 5

An Emerald  
Chapter 5  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

** Author:** Ok, so the reason I had the very short (and somewhat weird; if you liked it then that's fine with me! :D) last chapter is because I had seen some things in the last chapters I had written that may have cause confusion. So I just wanted to nail down all of Marie's, erm, ex-significant others for you. Oh, and please forgive my sorry attempts at Iyaric. I don't speak, but I did go and look up as much as I could, but I know it's still probably worse then amateur. If you have any tips, or you speak Iyaric, please let me know! Thanks!!  
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I dropped Marie off at some random street in Broker. I didn't like leaving here there, but it wasn't like I knew any other place where she could stay. Besides, she could take care of herself. Something about her was that she wasn't usually emotional; today, she was probably on her period or something. Anyway, my point was that she'd be fine. She always was.

I decided to head back to my apartment in Alderney. I guess I was just feeling like a long drive tonight. Speaking of night, it was about 8 PM by now. I had spent 9 hours since 11 AM with this entire mess. And I was tired, but I decided to take a look around the city. I didn't have anything of any substance to do tomorrow anyway.

If I was going to go out, I was going to at least have a friend with me. I hadn't hung out with Packie since Roman's wedding. The guy was torn apart. He couldn't talk to me, and I heard later on from Jacob that he had on a binge. Jacob had to go over to his house and help him out after he nearly shot himself in that state; after that, he went to Ireland for five months. His mom was a wreck too, the poor woman. She didn't even talk to anyone any more, only when necessary and for McReary business. Derrick was still around, and trying to help out, but he had his own issues; Gerry was the one that was getting everything thrown at him. But I had to give him credit, he was handling it pretty well.

I drove past so many normal things; people yelling at each other (and sometimes at me) out of their cars, people smoking what was obviously weed on the side of the street, and hearing gunshots, far away and near to me. I hadn't really thought about any of this before, since it always seemed the same. I wasn't going to start tonight either. When you start to notice too much, you get depressed.

Well, I do.

That's basically how my night was though. Watching the things in the city, like an anthropologist. Not so much like it though, since I could have been any of the people shooting off a gun. It was a weird feeling I got; the kind you get whenever you think a lot about something that has always made sense to you. It still all made sense, but...it was like I wanted it all to _not be that way_, for one day in the city.

But that would never happen.

I had a lot, yes. I had a cousin, his wife- my cousin-in-law you could say- , and friends. But something still felt empty to me, in my head. Maybe it was the rest of my family, still in across the ocean; or maybe it was Kate. I actually managed to say her name without getting upset.

But that fact alone made me even more upset.

I had started thinking hard lately; about life and crap. I guess it was because I wasn't really over anything that had happened in the past year. Maybe I never would be. But even I didn't want to go through my entire life being that weird, lonely old guy that didn't like communicating with people. I had friends, family, everything. But I just wasn't a happy guy, I guess.

I was in Dukes (I had no idea where I was driving at this point) so I decided to pay Jacob a visit. I got to his apartment, but then I noticed that the street seemed completely empty. Then I heard the sirens.

Within 5 seconds I saw 2 things; one was a horde of people suddenly turning the other corner down the street and running my way. The second was the Huntley Sport I saw swerving the corner.

It was driving down toward me with two people in the front seat; I could her a police car a block away. Then I saw someone stick his head out of the window, with smoke coming out of the window.

I stuck my head out of the window. "Hey, Jacob!" He turned my way, and yelled something to the person driving. The car screeched to a stop, and a girl jumped out of the driver's seat and sprinted to my car. When she got there, she started banging on my window. Stupid chick almost made me pull out my get my gun. "Hey!" She yelled. "Let I in!"

Realizing she must be Jacob's friend, I unlocked the doors. Jacob climbed in the back a few moments later. "Hey iya," he said, and I saw him smoking the weed that was having the smoke come out his window. "Irie, my girl, Lora. Now Niko, I aprecilove it if you get us outta here."

"Got it Jacob." I turned around and starting speeding down the street. I decided that I'd be better off going around in circles, and maybe going towards Broker instead of trying to cross over to the other city areas.

I tried to go right, but a cop car was speeding in my direction from the other end of the street. They must have seen Jacob and his friend switch cars. So I went faster, and sped to the left of the car, down the street and turned left. At this point, I had gone fast enough so that most of the cops where _at least_ 2 blocks away. When I figured we were away from the worst, I turned around to talk to Jacob. "Hey man, what were you guys doing?! You had half of Dukes police force after you guys!"

"Hey, I and Lora here run away from lagga head police, them Babylon. I smoking ganja down the street with her, and I catching up on stuff, man." His friend Lora was looking out the window, then she pulled out a lighter and some weed as well. She noticed me looking at her, and stuck her hand out, with a joint in it. " Want some ganja, bredren?" she asked.

"No thanks, I don't smoke that stuff." I answered. She shrugged, and continued smoking it. I saw Jacob put his arm around her, and her lean against him. I would've turned away, but I noticed something about wrists...oh.

There were cuts on them.

I wasn't going to jump to conclusions, so I just turned away and kept driving. Since they hadn't asked to go anywhere, I was just going to let them stay with me. That meant the Algonquin apartment. I decided on Playboy X's old one.

While I was driving I heard them whispering to each other. "...I ok? Come on star, skin your teeth." I didn't know what Little Jacob was saying, but he was smiling. I was really surprised; he didn't smile around many people, let alone have a lot to smile about. I could tell he really liked that girl, Lora.

We got to my apartment, and I let him and Lora borrow my room. I wanted to sleep, and I knew I should've, but I went outside on the deck area. It was 11 PM now, and for once I could see stars outside. Usually it was too polluted, but now that I could see them they made me feel okay. I hadn't really been happy in awhile, but I just kept staring at the sky. After a little while, I feel asleep where I was sitting.

* * *

I woke up at 9 AM, and I didn't even care that I was outside. I was just surprised that I slept for ten hours straight, no dreams, nothing. So I kinda just sat there, taking in the August sun. It wasn't too hot this morning and definitely not cold. It felt nice.

I went inside and saw that Jacob and Lora were still sleeping. I walked slowly into my room to get a some other clothes, then walked out. I decided to look at Lora for a moment though.

She was Jamaican, that much I knew by her accent; she had jet black hair, let loose; it was cut short so that it was only reached her nose, and was done in dreads. She wasn't bone skinny, but she didn't look like she had fat on her. Not much muscle either. If she _had_ cut herself at some point in life, then it would've been awhile ago, since the marks were scars. I would've thought she was a recovering addict, but I doubted she did anything besides smoking pot. She could be sick. It was normal for most people in Liberty City who had terminal illness to not be able to get treatment. I knew that she wouldn't be able to, unless she had more money then I thought.

I changed, than went to look for something to eat. While I was opening up everything cupboard in the kitchen, I heard someone get out of the bed. I turned to see Lora walking toward me, rubbing her eyes. They looked swollen, and I saw heavy bags underneath them.

What was wrong with this girl?

"Hey iya. I finish bunks mi res." She just stood there after she said that, then looked around. I found something bread, and put it in the toaster. Then I turned to her. "Hey...so will you guys want something to eat?"

"She blinked for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, that make I real ites, bredren." I nodded and tried to smile back. "Well," I started "then you can just sit over at the table. You still look tired, so I'll take care of it." She nodded, and sat at the table.

We were just quiet for a few moments, waiting for the toaster to work (it had always been a piece of shit). I didn't hear Jacob get up at all, so it was just me and Lora. I decided that I should start a conversation. Even though I wasn't sure if she was any easier to understand than Jacob. "So, if you're with Jacob I'm guessing you work with him?"

"Nah, I have a job. At Homebrew Cafe." She didn't feel like talking anymore than she needed to I guess. But I wanted to.

"Huh...well, Jacob seemed like he was real worried about you. You know, during the run."

She shrugged. "A so im tan, ya no see it?"

I was lost. Really lost. But I understood her tone, and I knew a little bit of what she was saying. "Yeah" I replied. "he's a good guy."


	6. Chapter 6

An Emerald

By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

Chapter 6

Jacob woke up later on, and I offered to drive them to wherever they wanted to go, but he said it was alright. They were heading to Alderney; weapons deal.

So since I had barely anything to do, and no work, I was just stuck at home. Roman almost always had to run his cab company, and Mallorie was just staying at home. I as still uncomfortable about calling Packie, even if I knew in the back of my head he didn't blame me. But the front of my head was saying to not do it. So I basically sat at home, watching TV for 2 hours, until I finally decided that I at least wanted to go outside.

Once I walked out, I asked myself why I would even bother to go outside. People in the apartment upstairs screaming; people across the street trying run over somebody. I leaned against a wall, trying to think of anybody at all to hang out with. For some reason, one of the first people that came to mind was Marie.

Now look. At the time, I wasn't interested in dating her. Not that she wasn't beautiful; she really was. But I didn't think it would be a good idea, especially with recent events.

But that was sort of what I needed to talk to her about. Recent events.

I didn't want Roman to loose an employee over some bullies, but I couldn't have them threatning Mallorie either. She was as stressed out as it was with a baby; she didn't need any more problems. But I didn't know how to talk with Marie about it. I was nervous that she would feel bad for them, and then just get angrier with me. People were like that when they had to choose between people.

I thought for sure she would choose them. She had known them longer, and knew them better. _Much _better. She had know reason to choose us, unless it'd be just to keep her job and a few friends.

I realized that I was overexaggerating a little. They wouldn't blame her; they probably didn't even know she was involved in any way at all. But word spreads fast in Liberty City, no matter how it spreads. She knew that I was going to try to stop them, and if they found out she had that would be reason enough to go after her.

I doubted she wanted that kind of interaction, especially when one of the leading members of the gang was her ex. I know I wouldn't. So like I said; I had to talk to her about it. Eventually.

Usually I would've put it off. But I was impatient today; I needed to do something.

I had gotten her number this morning in a text from Roman. He passed it off as something employees needed to know; I knew him better. I dialed in her number, and after a few rings she picked up.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone, and I could hear her panting.

"Uh, hey Marie. It's Niko." I hoped I didn't sound nervous. I didn't even know _why_ I was nervous.

"Oh Niko!" her voice brightened a little, which I found funny. "I wondered what you were up to. I mean, Lora called me to chat and told me that you helped her and Jacob out. So how are ya?"

"I'm alright. What about you? You found somewhere to sleep at night, right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm good. I-" she stopped, and I heard her shout something away from the phone. It sound like "get off"; strange. "Sorry, my friend's cat jumped on me and she has a tendency to claw, hold on..." Ah.

I waited a minute. Then when she started to talk, she was panting like she'd been running. "Sorry. Anyway, yeah! I'm staying with my friend, Uiara. She lives in Algonquin, and her boyfriend just moved out, so she has the space. But thanks for asking." I heard a scuffle, and someone screaming. But it was like a happy scream, sort of. I decided I should start talking before something else happened.

"Good. So, Marie, I was thinking, and I know it may be weird to talk about, but I thought we should meet and just sort out this whole issue with Mallorie and her cousin."

I waited for a minute, and I could hear her breath momentarily stop. But she got herself together, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, you're right Niko. But, I kinda already pulled a few strings. Maybe we could meet somewhere more private to talk?"

That irritated me a bit. I couldn't see her face, and I couldn't tell if she had "pulled a few strings" in their favor or mine. But since we we're going to meet anyway, I agreed.

"Alright. Let's go to that old diner in Broker. It's shit, but no one really goes there."

"Ok." she sighed. "I'll see you there in a few, ok?"

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye Niko!"

I hung up, and exhaled. I could feel this was going to be complicated. In my gut, I could just feel it.  
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When I got to the diner, I saw her sitting at a table sipping hot chocolate. The smell suddenly made me the diner have a nicer atmosphere than usual. That is, until I saw some guy checking Marie out. Then it went back to the shitty hole-in-the-wall that it'd always been.

"Hey." I mumbled, and slid into the seat across from her. Her eyes went a little wide, and she nearly choked on her hot chocolate. What a klutz.

"Hey, Niko." she put down her hot chocolate so as though not to spill any. "So, I'm just gonna tell you exactly how I got them off Mallorie's back, ok? Because I think you look nervous."

Wow. She was perceptive.

"So, don't get worried, alright? So you see, I told you these guys weren't really high up on the food chain. Which means that if someone higher up tells them to screw off, they sure as hell screw off. So, I went to Alvaro."

Oh. That was unexpected. I was expecting her to have gone to some other group, and gotten into a whole other mess. Borrowed and bribed with money or something; the usual thing people do to get other people off their backs. But this was different. Then again, she was in a...not good, but lucky situation. Or at least as lucky as you can get with an ex-boyfriend.

"So, I went to him and...I met have...made it _seem_ as though those guys were lying about unpaid money. So Alvaro got pissed, naturally, and he started talking with Diego. So Diego got even more pissed, because these are his guys you know? So now they're in deep shit; not enough to get them killed. I...I didn't want to do that. Sorry." she looked away for a minute. Normally, I would wonder _why_ you wouldn't want to kill these guys. But like most people she had more of a conscience than me. "But it was deep enough for it to look like Mallorie paid off the money, or Alfredo did, or someone did. And that they're hiding it." she looked back at me, then started sipping her hot chocolate. She continued speaking in between drinks. "So, Mallorie should be good for...at least a year." I raised my eyebrows, wondering how she knew that. She noticed, and rolled her eyes. "That's how long it usually takes Los Cabrones to check every bank account, friend and family, and offshore accounts."

After she finished, she went up to the counter and asked that waitress for a piece of pumpkin pie. I just sat there while she got it, thinking. So Marie had really just gotten Mallorie out of what could potentially be a really, really, bad situation. There was no reason to tell Roman, and if they did come back then it would be after the baby was born and there were things we could do in that time to ensure that Mallorie and that kid would be safe. So really, we owed Marie. Big time.

She came back to the table with two plates, both with pumpkin pie. She put one out in front of me, and when I looked up at her she grinned. "I thought that you could use a little pie. You don't seem to be a very happy person, and one of my best friends- her names Lee- says that pie helps you get through the day." I just stared at her after that comment. She noticed, and averted her eyes. "However, I think she usually goes with pie because she's afraid that if she drinks to much booze she'll die or something."

That made me chuckle a bit, and Marie smiled again. She had a pretty smile.

It was after that smile that I made the decision. Marie seemed like a good person, and she had a quality I hadn't seen in awhile. She brightened a place that would otherwise seem like...like a crappy hole-in-the-wall diner.

"Hey Marie...I was wondering if, um, you wanted to go have a drink with me." My voice was a little nervous, but it got out.

She looked up, surprised. But then she smiled. "You wanted to know if I wanted to get a drink with you?"

"Uh...yeah." Her smile got even wider.

"Ok. Today?" I nodded. "Alright then. Any top choices?"

"I was thinking, maybe....the Irish place."

"Ok." she said. Then she got up and put money down on the table. "Let's go."

To say it was a long night would be and understatement.

When we got out of the bar, we were _trashed. _Completely trashed. Marie got out, and could barely walk straight, let alone walk. Even though I was trashed to, I could still see straight.

"Hahaha!" she laughed. "Niko, that was...a-a g-good time...but I don't know how I'm...g-gonna get home..."

Like I said, I was pretty trashed too. But we were both starting to come back a bit, so for the record, we both knew what was going on. We just weren't using the best judgement...

"Hey, just come back to my place...I g-got room..." I was started to see clearly; most of our time drunk had been spent getting the bar owner to kick us out. At this point, she just looked at me.

"That would be nice."


	7. Chapter 7

An Emerald  
Chapter 7  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

Yes I slept with her. Was it the best way of doing it? Not so much. But that doesn't mean it was a good experience.

When we got back it was immeadiate. She got in, dropped her bag on the back, and turned and looked at me. Then it was like a chain reaction.

I kissed her, she kissed back. I moved my foot closer, she moved closer. It started slow, and then it got fast. In minutes we were halfway across the room, and onto the bed. It got faster, and we didn't even think about how awkward it would be in the morning. We just went for it. I remember it all. She wasn't loud, but she wasn't a quiet person either. The last thing I remember clearly was her shirt finally coming off, both of us taking off our pants, and then...ecstasy.

I slept through the night. It's too bad that I didn't remember that me and Marie were supposed to be at work the next morning, until the next morning.

I woke up first. When I woke up, my headache was the first thing on my mind. It was _pounding_. It was like a hammer, and it didn't help that there was actual construction going on outside.

The second thing I notice was a little- just a little- more important. That was the fact that my arm on top of Marie's bare chest.

I remembered everything. Every moment of drunkenness, every kiss, the feeling of her skin. I took it in. I looked at her face. It looked a little odd when she was sleeping. Not bad, just like she was dreaming. Thinking, even in her sleep.

But a guy is a guy. I took a pretty good look at her. I wanted a clearer picture to think of during work. And I won't lie; it was a really good view. Personally, I could've stayed there with her all day, repeating the night before. But Roman's annoying voice interrupted my thoughts.

I always knew that giving him the key to my apartment was a horrible idea.

"COUSIN!" I heard his voice boom across the apartment, with the door banging wide open. Not only did it echo endlessly in my head, it made Marie wake up real quick too. "Cousin, come on, you have to get up off your ass and go to-"

The minute he saw who was there two things happened. Marie let out a long string of cuss words, and ducked under the covers. And Roman, after staring for one minute with a look of pure shock- which normally I would've found funny, but now just made my head hurt more- started to laugh hysterically.

"HahahahHAAAHAHAHA!" he roared, and I started to cuss too. "I knew getting you guys to meet was a good idea! Man, I _knew_ this would happen! Eventually, I knew you guys would screw each other, I knew it!"

"Roman, shut up!" I hissed. I couldn't yell back, or else I knew that my head would explode. Thankfully Roman quieted down a bit, which made the situation a little easier. But just a little.

"Niko, man, I hate to say I told you so, but uh, I told you so." he kept chuckling, but moved on to the kitchen, and started to get out food. I kind of just stared at him, wondering if I should try to kick him out of not. But I figured that we'd- we being me and Marie- be ok for a little bit. We had to go to the same place anyway. So while Roman kept jabbering, I got turned around and tapped Marie's figure under the covers. "Hey, Marie. Can you take your head out?"

She popped out from under the covers, and they nearly slids pass her chest. She quickly grabbed it and moved it back up. "What? What?!" she snarled. Well jeez. She got irritated easily.

"Just, wrap yourself up...and um, go to the bathroom. I mean, your clothes are over there, and..." I turned to look at Roman, who was _still_ going on. Man, he wouldn't shut up. The only reason I kind of wanted him to go on was because if he stopped he would start on Marie. But luck was on my side today; his phone started ringing, and he picked it up to begin a cuss-out with a client. He walked out into the hallway, and away from the door.

"See?" I said. She looked toward the door, and looked a little more relaxed. "Why were you so worried? I mean, I know it's awkward but for God's sakes it was only Roman." I chuckled. She looked at me and pursed her lips, then let out a sigh.

"Ugh, I don't know. He's my boss. I've never slept with my boss' _cousin_ before." she gave me a small smile. "But, I will say Niko Bellic, I do guess it was worth having Roman bust in on me with his cousin. His cousin is a pretty cute guy, all over." Her eyes trailed down to my chest, and back up to me. She saw me looking at something other than her face. "Are you checking me out?" she questioned.

"I'm trying. You're making it a little hard for me." she grinned even wider, and let the covers drop down.

She was...not just sexy, but _sensual_. She layed on her side, and glanced up at me. This position was giving me a good view, too. "So," she started, and I briefly looked up at her. "is the view worth it?"

I decided to tease her, just a little. "Well...I mean, if you want me to tell the truth, it's not the greatest..."

Her grin went to a smirk. "Screw you, Niko Bellic."

It was my turn to grin. "Is that an offer Marie Hartman?" Her grin came back.

"Well, if you're accepting..." she kiss me again, and in seconds, we were making out. Completely, like two teenagers. It literally took us about 5 minutes to be close enough for me to completely take her what she was offering, so to speak. It was great.

Until Roman came back in.

"Oh, COME ON!" he laughed. "Can't you guys stop fucking for one minute? Come on, you have to work for me, remember?" he went back over to get food out, eating half of eat in the meantime. I didn't want him to eat all, the pig, so I decided that it was time to actually get out. I got up and put my pants back on, and started to go towards the bathroom..

"Alright Roman, I'll get out in a sec, just-"

I stopped when I saw who else walked through the door.

I just stayed there. Roman turned around to see why I stopped, and followed my eyes. He walked around the corner of the wall, and saw who it was too. "Oh hey man! Niko, I told you about how he was stopping by, right?" he yelled.

"Man," he said "you will never believe what I found Niko up to this morning, Packie!"

The headache came back. And the look on Packie's face wasn't helping.

Roman was obviously not thinking. As always. "Packie, man, Niko got laid! He was in her a minute ago during the _act_!" he noticed Packie's eyes on me. "Hey, Packie you there?" Packie blinked, and glared at Roman. "Yeah, I'm just waiting for you guys."

"Yeah..." Roman trailed off for a few seconds. Then he noticed the tension in the air. "Oh, uh, Packie, this is Marie. She works at my taxi cab company, new employee. That's how she and Niko got acquaninted." Marie did a salute hello, and Packie nodded in her direction. Roman noticed it was getting more awkward by the minute, so he made his back into the kitchen. Which left me and Marie staring at Packie.

"So..." Marie said quietly. Packie just looked right at me. I wasn't going to break my gaze and neither was he.

"So how long has it been again?" he asked quietly. "6 months? I haven't seen you for only 6 _fucking_ months?!" he was shaking a bit. But it seemed like a lot. "And I find that in that time you've just been working you're way through the city with..._whores_ like this?!"

"Hey, back the fuck off!" I shouted back. I was expecting him to get angry with me, but not outright insult Marie. And he crossed that line. I looked at Marie, and strangely, so did Packie. Like he wanted a response out of her.

She just looked at me with her mouth hanging open. She turned to Packie, then to me, then back to him and then started shaking her head. "No," she started, and grabbed the back of her covers and stood up. She was waving her hand around in the air. "I'm not going to deal with some asshole like you right now. I don't even know who you _are_!" she raised her voice, one moment, then lowered it back down. "You don't get to call me a whore. Jerkoff." then she walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

I looked back at Packie. He looked like he was about to start again, but I cut him off. "Just get the fuck out Packie. Just get out of my apartment." he stared at me. Then he started to walk up to me, and that's when Roman pushed him back.

"Just leave, Packie." he said, "Leave. You guys can..." he looked back at me. He was thinking about his words. "...can _communicate_ later. But go right now."

For a second, I could see Packie considering punching Roman in the face. Just so he could try getting back to walking over to me. But then his normal face cam back, with its normal glare. "Fine. _Fine_." he said, raising his arms in surrender. Then he walked out of the apartment, and nearly broke the door off it's hinges with his slam.

Roman take a deep breath and turned to me. "I'm sorry, you know, I didn't know about you and Marie, and I thought since you hadn't seen him in awhile, then..." he sighed again, and raised his hands. "I didn't know he'd get so pissed off anyway. I'm sorry."

I listened to him, but I didn't say anything. I just chuckled, oddly, and breathed. I didn't want to talk back. I was mad. I was mad at Packie for coming in my apartment and making Marie upset. I was mad that he didn't seem to know me any better than what he called me. But I was really mad the most because I started thinking about what he said.  
_  
"6 months? I haven't seen you for only 6 fucking months?!"_ I kept thinking about the words, and they were make my head spin way too much. I was irritated at everything about this morning. Well, except for-

"Marie." I mumbled, and Roman leaned forward.

"Huh?" he asked stupidly. "What about her?"

"She's in the bathroom." I sighed, and went over to the door, knocking on it. "Marie, open up. Come on, he's gone. You heard."

There was nothing, for a moment. Then she opened the door just enough for me and Roman to see her sitting on top of the closed toilet seat, with the cover still around her. She looked questionably at me, and her eyebrows were furrowed down. She wasn't to happy.

"Who the hell was he Niko?" she asked. My breath shuddered a bit in my answer. I didn't want to bring up the subject right at this moment. But she kept looking at me for the answer. Hell, there had been a lot of people just staring at me this morning.

"Uh...it was..." I sighed, and swung my arms in the air. "His name was Packie. Packie McReary."

Her eyebrows shot up. Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh." she just said. And then she let go of the door handle.

It was utter silence. What was she going to say? She had just slept with a guy who she worked with, who's friend had busted into her guy's apartment, only to call her a whore for no reason she knew of. And then she knew the reason, and it was clear in m mind too: The friend was her guy's dead-girlfriend's brother.

There wasn't any other way to put it.

We all just...kind of stood there for a minute. Even Roman knew he shouldn't talk about it. I could hear someone yelling at someone else down the hall, and I wondered if the silence was out of anger or just not knowing what exactly to say next.

She did speak first, though.

"Umm...we have to go to work." she said, and half-smiled. "Besides, it's already 8:00," she nodded her head toward the clock on the TV stand. "so, we should better...umm...get ready."

Life snapped back on. I heard cars outside and horns blowing. It wasn't just the person yelling down the hall anymore. "Yeah, um..." I looked around, and found her clothes. "Here." I handed them to her, and she muttered a thank you. "No problem," I mumbled, then I coughed and took my voice to normal level "just tell us when you're done."

She nodded, and smiled at me. Funny, how her smile didn't make me feel bad. Strangely, it made me feel a little better.

She shut the door, and I turned back to Roman. I started to talk, but he stopped me short. "Don't worry Niko. I'm leaving, man." he smiled his weird smile, and started to walk out the door. I took a deep breath and started to turn toward the bathroom, when I heard him yell from the hallway "And don't screw each other again Niko! I don't want you to be late!" I heard his laugh down the hall. For a minute, I didn't want to even respond to that. But then I started laughing, despite my best attempts. I even heard Marie's desperate attempts to not laugh from the bathroom. I walked over, and knocked on the door. She opened it, still trying to not laugh at the situation. "Hey" I said, confidently, "do you mind if i join you?"

She gave me a knowing look. "You heard what Roman said, Niko! He doesn't want us to be late." she was looking at me with a mischievous grin.

"Hah! Well, if you're so worried," I moved into the bathroom, and shut the door behind me. "we can just tell him that I had to get a new car from someone."

She stood up, covers still around her. "And who would that be Niko? What kind of car are you buying?" she moved closer to me, tilting her head to look me in the eye.

"Who said I was buying it?" I asked her. Her head snapped forward; I though she was going to be upset. But she was still smiling. "I just thought I would take it from some generous person I met outside."

"Hmm." she pondered. "Well, I suppose if it's grand theft auto," I slid my hand around her waist, and her arm was draped over my shoulder. All my thoughts of what had ocurred 10 minutes ago were in the back of my head, not being payed attention too. "then he might buy it." And with that, the covers were off and she was on my hips.


	8. Chapter 8

An Emerald  
Chapter 8  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

When we actually got to work- which wasn't _that_ late- there was way too many people coming in for me and Marie to get any chance to talk. She was busy driving taxis and arguing with, at this time of day, mostly tourists from Europe in a different language. Today, I was busy trying to refuel and repair the other taxis. Muhammad was being a jackass, as always, and by the time he had finished complaining about me doing anything and everything wrong, I was about ready to just take the gun out of the car I stole and shoot him through the skull.

But since we were always short on drivers anyway, I couldn't do anything besides telling him to just drive to wherever the fuck he was going. That earned a giggle across the garage from Marie, who was putting on some lip gloss using her rear view mirror.

"Hey," he yelled to her, turning around. "you think this asshole is funny? Why don't you try dealing with him for 8 hours during the day! At least you can fuel your own car, Roman won't let me touch the gasoline..."

"Dude, the way you're acting, he probably has a good reason for it." she commented. "You'd probably blow up the entire garage somehow anyway..." she muttered underneath her breath. I smirked. I would think that with the people she hanged around with she wouldn't have such a big mouth.

Thinking of that, I thought of what had happened with Packie this morning. That didn't make my stomach feel good. I wondered where he was now. Probably going drunk somewhere, or maybe hanging out at Jacob's. Though knowing Jacob, he'd probably had been upset with Packie if he had randomly come into Jacob's place, angry with everyone within 5 feet of him.

But there was something in his words that had stuck with me the whole day. _"6 fucking months?" _It kept repeating, whenever I stupidly stopped to think about it. I didn't want to believe it, but maybe...well, maybe he was right.

I mean, I still missed Kate. I would always miss Kate. It's just that, I had been sad for all these months, and then Marie just...happened. Now that I thought about it, I didn't know whether we were dating or not. Was it a casual relationship? Friends with benefits? God, both of those things sounded weird when I thought of Marie. She didn't fit into that kind of equation for me. But Packie's voice, and the look on his face just kept coming back up, and up. Damn I was frustrated with this.

So I did what I usually do when I'm frustrated. I decided to distract myself. "Hey, Marie!" I called. She turned my way, a grin on her face, as always. God. "Hey, can you finish with the gasoline here? I wanted to go a few blocks down for a minute, and I don't want this psychopath setting something on fire." I tried to chuckle, and for right now, it worked.

"Sure." she answered, and stepped out of her car. She walked over, her flat-soled sneakers making a crunchy graveling noise as she got closer. "Just don't take too long. Roman will go crazy if too many irritated people start arguing with him over the phone about how no one has come to pick them up." Then she turned to Muhammad, and starting annoying him. "Alright Muhammad, now just sit in the car, give me your keys, and after I lock the door you can just stay there so that you won't play around with the flammable objects..."

"Screw you!" he shouted, as I walked toward the street. I stopped outside of the garage for a minute, waiting to hear her response.

"Sweetheart, you wish you could."

I smiled. That was Marie.

After taking a cop car from a parking lot outside of a laundry mat, and _after _getting away from the other cop car that tried to come after me, I parked in an alley across across from a gas station, and decided to take a look in the police database. It was my way of checking up on people.

First, I decided to type in Little Jacob's name. After looking at the record, I was glad that he wasn't in custody yet. I was thinking of looking up Packie- since part of me still felt sorry for him- but I was also still pissed with him, so I figured I didn't feel like even checking up on him.

The other two people I thought of were Lora and Marie. Then I remembered the cuts on Lora's arms; I figured that the database might possibly tell me something. So I looked up her first name, then I sifted through the photos of "Lora's" until I found her face. I was...I nearly broke the screen of the search engine when I tried to pull it forward, just to see if I was seeing the info wrong.

** Surname: **Hughes  
** First Name:** Lora

That sent me back into my seat.

Jacob had gotten _married?_

My thoughts were swimming around, trying to remember every conversation with him, to see if I had missed something. But there was nothing. Nothing at all. Which meant that he had gotten married, without telling anyone. Not me, or Roman, or Marie, or Packie, _no one_. I tried to understand why he wouldn't want us to know. It was him being married. That seemed like a big thing, at least for Jacob. I never would have pictured him..._married. _There was no other explanation for the fact that he and Lora shared the same last name. Then I looked at the notes section of the profile.

** Notes:  
** - Linked to West Indian criminal gangs in East Liberty City.  
- Suspected to be linked to marijuana and cocaine distribution network run by Teafore Maxwell-Davies.  
- Married to Jacob Hughes, a Jamaican criminal in East Liberty City, suspect in several armed robberies and hijackings.

That was enough.

I was still confused, and I tried to think of Jacob. And that's where I found my answer.

The last time the database had been edited was 7 months ago. That would've been right before Kate was killed. Knowing Jacob, he probably hadn't made a big deal of the marriage; they had probably just had a small ceremony at City Hall or something. He wasn't one to exactly make a party of things. And then Kate had been killed, and he had been one of the first people to help...he didn't want to tell me what was good news during a bad time. He didn't want to make it worse.

I realized that that was who he was. The guy smoked marijuana all day, but his brain and perception were still intact. He knew that the fact that he had just gotten married would've taken the excitement away from Roman's wedding, and made the fact that Kate wasn't here to hear about his marriage seem all the more worse. And knowing that I'd been a ghost the past few months probably wouldn't have made him to keen to let me know. I guess he thought I'd find out eventually.

As I took this in, I decided that I should take the next few minutes I knew I had before Roman had someone coming for him. With his big mouth, that gave me about 15 minutes. I typed in Marie's name into the database. "_Marie Hartman_". After a minute of searching, the database came up with her profile.

** Surname: **Hartman  
** First Name: **Marie  
** Age: **25  
** Place of Birth: **United States  
** Affiliations: **Linked to Cuban criminal gangs in Broker, Liberty City.  
** Criminal Record:  
** 2006: Grand Theft Auto  
2007: Possession of Controlled Substance: Marijuana  
2008: Possession of stolen property.  
** Notes: **  
- Known to have been linked to Alvaro Fernandez Garcia.  
- Suspected to have illegally acquired dual citizenship for U.S. and Cuba.  
- Suspected to have been associated with Los Cabrones gang, and have helped in various criminal activity with them.  
- Has been involved in numerous protests at City Hall that had turned violent.  
- Known to have been linked to Dimitri Rascalov.  
- Suspected to have housed numerous criminals.  
- Was a victim of assault in 2006; seriously injured attacker, and when pressed for charges, was pardoned for self-defense.

Wow.

That was...a lot of information. Possession of marijuana? She smoked marijuana? God. And grand theft auto. All the notes- that fact that Dimitri's name was on there made my stomach curl. I sat back in my seat, and breathed out. Wow, this girl had a lot on her record. "Linked" was a pretty word for "boyfriend". I doubted that she had dual citizenship, even though she was involved with Los Cabrones. "Seriously injured attacker"....well, Packie had better not mess with her..

My phone started ringing annoyingly, and I saw that it was a call from Marie. "Hey!" I said as I flipped open the phone. "How come you didn't tell me about the ass-"

"Niko!" Marie nearly yelled, and I could hear her panting. "Niko, you need to get down here _now. _They're here. Los Cabrones."


	9. Chapter 9

An Emerald  
Chapter 9

By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

When I pulled into the garage, I could tell someone that wasn't supposed to be there had came. There was a pool of gasoline near one of the car, and some guy standing guard outside the door to the office. He had a semi-automatic in his hands.

I went up to him, and he looked like he was going to shoot me on sight, but grabbed the gun before he had the chance. A good hit over the head made him go out; he would be for at least 10 minutes.

I swung open the door, and the first thing I saw was the barrel of a handgun. "Drop the gun!" yelled whoever was wielding the gun. I wouldn't let go. "I said drop the gun, asshole!" The barrel touched my forehead, but I stood completely still. I knew one move and I could be gone.

That doesn't mean that I wasn't pissed off enough to get out of the situation anyway.

The pistol was out of his hand in a second, and against _his_ head, not mine. "Fuck you!" I shouted, and that caught the attention of three other guys. Two of them came out of the inner office, and I would've shot them in a second.

Then I saw who the third person had hostage.

"Drop both of the guns or the girl dies!" I could hear the accent on his voice. He was Cuban.

"Mallorie." I breathed. She looked at me, and I could tell she was about to have a breakdown. Whoever was holding her had a gun at her head, and a knife at her stomach; he knew about the baby.

"Drop the guns, or else the girl _or _her kid is dead!" the third guy yelled again. It was like a knee-jerk reaction. The guns were on the floor. The other two guys grabbed them, and the first one put the gun against my head. He didn't bother with annoying me like some hired guns, which I thought he was. He got straight to the point; Marie was right. These guys didn't waste any time.

"Who are you?! Why are you here?" he shouted. I didn't answer straight away; I was still staring at Mallorie.

"Mallorie, are you ok? Is Roman, or Marie-" My sentence was cut short by her shriek.

The knife had been moved up to her arm.

"Answer the question, chico." The third guys hissed, with a weird smirk on his face. "You don't want me to move the knife back down to her stomach. Or better yet, tell my friend in there" he nodded his head toward the inner office. "to take care of this girl's husband."

That ticked me off.

"Don't you fucking touch either of them, you prick!" I glared at him, and he just shrugged his shoulders. The asshole had a smile on his face.

"Then why don't you answer our fucking questions? Besides, we don't know who you are, why you're here. So answer our questions, and we'll leave them alone." his grin got even bigger. "You obviously know them. So listen to us. Got it?"

I kept glaring, but I took one glance at Mallorie's face. She wasn't even looking at me. She was holding the sides of her stomach. So I nodded my head, and leaned against the soda machine.

"What do you want to know?" I grunted. The third guy's face should've been hurting by now.

"Answer each question." he lead Mallorie over to a seat, and had her sit down. The gun was still pointed at her head. "How do you know her?"

"She's my cousin-in-law." His eyebrows were raised. Shit.

"Aah, so she means something to you." he pressed the gun against her forehead. "And her husband," he looked toward the inner office. "is your cousin. That makes things different."

His face suddenly got serious, his eyebrows furrowing down. "Do you know anything about someone lying to a head of Los Cabrones, about my men supposedly hiding money that they never got from _her_?" he knocked her head back with the barrel of the gun. I heard her wince. So this was Diego.

I swallowed hard, and bit my tongue on the stream of cuss words that wanted to come out. Another stream of thoughts came into my head.

If I told them that I _did_ in fact know, I would have to tell them who it was. That it was Marie. I didn't know where she was, even though I knew she was probably in the room with Roman. But Packie's voice came into my head, and I thought about Marie. Was she worth me lying, putting my family in danger?

Suddenly, I was mad. I was mad at the three guys in the room, at Marie, for doing _anything_. I should've told her first minute after she told me what happened that I'd take care of it. That I'd kill these bastards, so they'd leave Mallorie alone. I was mad at Packie for judging me, for even _implying_ that I never even care about Kate. All of this anger...didn't do so well for holding my tongue.

"You know what? Fuck off you asshole! FUCK OFF!" I shouted. "You think you can take money from them for no reason? You want MONEY? Go get it from someone else, wait for her cousin, just don't even fucking TRY to threaten my family!"

That's when I took the gun. The gun that was against my head was in my hand, and the first guy was on the ground. His arm was probably broken; bending it backwards looked like the only way to incapacitate him. I went after the second guy, and he fired the first shot.

He started firing randomly. I guess he was freaked out about his friend. That gave me the advantage, and I tried to take his gun. But in my rage, I had forgotten about Diego.

I didn't feel the blood at first. I was just kind of in a daze for a minute. Then I felt the pain in my arm, and the blood was next.

"Argh!" I yelled, and the pain made me fall against the wall. That gave the second man the opportunity to take my gun. Diego just looked on; he looked pissed. I didn't know what to do. I was down, Mallorie was-

Oh God.

He's hand was pressing down on the trigger. "I told you to listen," Mallorie was crying hysterically at this point. "but you didn't. Too bad that I don't repeat myself. Better get your goodbyes in while you can, because your cousin-in-law's head is going to be covered in something red in a minute."

He was about to shoot the gun. Mallorie would be gone. I could see Roman's face when he found out his wife, the girl he loved- no matter how much of an asshole he could be, he did love her- and his unborn child were dead. It mixed with Packie's face when he found out Kate...was dead...

I couldn't help her at all. I could see the bloodstains on the wall behind Mallorie's face.

Then I saw the door from the inner office forcibly kicked open.

I didn't hear any gunshots. I didn't see any blood. Once I saw the gun move from her face, I wasn't on the floor anymore. I was standing in front her, checking her forehead, her stomach. The cut on her arm would need stitches, but she was fine besides that. She was fine, crying, but fine. That made me breath. "Mallorie, you're alright right? He didn't shoot you, I know you have a cut but...you ok?"

She nodded her head, but she was looking at something else. Then she abruptly stood up. "NO!" she screeched. I had to grab her to make sure she didn't go any closer to any of them. She started spurting out Spanish, which I understood once I saw what she was looking at. "No, no lo lastimes! El no lo sabia, no lo sabia!"

I looked up, and Marie and Diego were screaming at each other, Diego waving a gun in Roman's direction and Marie holding one- God knows how she got it- steadily at him.

"Diego, idiota, como te atreves a venir aqui?!" Damn, angry. I remembered her record, and I had a brief sardonic thought. He'd had better back off, or else whatever self-defense she knew she'd use. I had a feeling it wasn't the regular self-defense either. I noticed Roman standing against the wall, and for once he was actually doing something smart. He was watching Diego closely, and I realized that he was slowly bending down towards something. I looked down: it was the second guy's gun.

I looked toward where he was the last time I saw him, and he was down on the floor. Marie was in front of his body, so I guess she must have done something. I'd ask about that later though.

"Get out of here Diego!" she yelled. "You know that she doesn't have to pay you a fucking penny! Get the fuck out" she shot near his ear, which scared the carp out of Roman, "or you know I'll get you in deep shit. And you know I can, Diego." she said, looking at him seriously. "You know I can."

He stared at her. Then he raised the gun and motioned towards me. "You know Marie, you are one bitchy person. So you and Alvaro screwed each other. You think that give you any leverage?" he walked closer to me; I bared my teeth in disgust. That just made him snicker. "Look at your situation Marie. I mean, look at this guy!" he nudged my head with the gun; I tried to grab it, but my arm muscle flinched up my arm in pain.

"Argh!" I hissed. That made Diego laugh even more. I wanted to shove the gun down that guys trachea.

"See? He can't help you." Diego started walking toward Marie. "The Puerta Rican can't help you, her Serbian husband can't help you." he put the gun to his side, and put his hand on top of the barrel of the one she was holding. "So either you take the chance of me _not_ shooting someone, or you put the gun down and let me do my job." She kept the gun steady, but her eyebrows slackened a little. She looked at Mallorie, then back at Diego. I knew she was thinking about the baby.

"What are you going to choose, Marie?" I saw his face look a little sad for a minute. "Alvaro misses you, you know. You should come back, to your family. Te extranamos, Marie. Adriana, de todos nosotros."

For a minute, she actually looked like she was considering it. Like she would've liked to agree to let him hurt us. It was something in her usually normal, brown eyes that made me nervous. Some sort of, weird glimmer. For once in a long while, I was strangely scared. That glimmer...it reminded me of something. I had seen that glimmer before.

Darko Brevic had that same weird glimmer in his eyes the day before we were ambushed.

But she shook her head, I guess to get read of whatever thought she had that was making that glimmer. Staring straight at him, she quickly moved the gun so that he was no longer touching it. "Get out of here Diego." She whispered this, and I could hear a tinge of strain in her voice. "You don't have any right to be here, I know. It's my word against yours. And if Alvaro misses me so much, it's no question which one of us he'll believe." She raised the weapon so that she had a clear shot to his head. "Get your men out of here. Leave them alone."

Diego's sad face quickly turned to a face of irritation. _Severe_ irritation. Rage. Hurt. Anger.

His movements were so sudden I didn't comprehend what was going to happen. But in the blink of an eye, he had Marie against the wall. I don't know what she was thinking, but for some reason she didn't fight back. "Don't think this is over Marie" he mumbled in her ear. "we'll come back for them. And you." He held her fast against the wall. "Don't think I don't know things Marie. I know about Alvaro, about Uiara, about everything."

That moment was when I saw the fear. Marie froze, and her eyes practically bugged out of her head. I heard him chuckle a weird laugh. "Yeah, I do know about that. You're not the only one that can pull quite a few strings. So you better watch out." He looked her in the face. "Got it?"

She looked at him for a moment, and I saw something between the two of them that looked like communication. But it was only for a second. "You've forgotten a lot about me Diego." she murmured.

"Hah! Oh really?" he tightened his grip. "Like what?"

She smiled her smile. "Like my self-defense trial." Then she did something that no other person, I'm sure, would've thought of doing in self-defense.

I heard her collect something in the back of her throat; it sounded like she was hacking. Diego looked confused too, and loosened his grip slightly. Then a wad of saliva came out of her mouth and into his eyes.

"Ugh!" He backed off, and that gave her the second she needed. She bent her knees slightly, and sprang at him.


	10. Chapter 10

An Emerald  
Chapter 10  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

Marie sure knew how to tackle someone to death. Really.

After springing off her feet at Diego, she landing squarely on his back. She didn't break any bones in this action, but I bet should could have. At that point it became a goal of hers to keep him on the floor.

This gave Mallorie a few seconds to run out the door to the garage; since she didn't scream, I assumed that the guy I knocked out was still, well, knocked out. I saw Roman pick up a handgun, and I held onto my arm started to get out a door.

Me and Roman were heading out first, until we heard a high pitched yelp.

It sounded like a bird squawking, and it hurt my ears. Roman was already on edge, and I think he thought it was Mallorie because he quickly looked out the office door. but I looked in the right direction. That was where Marie had been thrown off Diego's back. And not by Diego.

The second guy, who had been on the floor but was now holding Marie in the air, had lifted her off Diego's back and was now preparing to throw her into a wall. I thought it was odd, how she wasn't trying to fight back; but I noticed that she was holding her side. Then it dawned on me what had happened. When this heavyweight guy lifted her off Diego's back, he must have grabbed her around her ribcage and pulled back. Hard. One of her ribs were broken.

But what was about to happen paled in comparison to a broken rib. "Marie!" I tried to run, but Roman pulled me back.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I spit out, but Roman just threw me out the door.

"Hold on!" he said. He threw me a handgun, which I caught with my good arm. When I turned back up to Roman, he- shockingly- did something smart.

He took the other gun that was in his hand, and shot someone in the room. I heard a yell, and a thud to the floor. A second later I heard the same high pitched yelp, including a long string of cuss words. Then I saw Diego and the second guy run out, Diego pushing the guy with the broken arm in front of him. One of them started to drag the guard who had been outside the office with them to a Hermes. Roman didn't bother shooting them, which was probably smart- even though if one of my arms was working _I'd_ still try it- and went inside. In about 30 second he was out, with Marie's arm draped across his shoulder.

"Go, go!" he hissed, and I quickly got in the back of the taxi cab. It was Muhammad's, and God knew where he was; but at that point in time, I didn't really care. I made space for Marie in the back, and left the door open. As me and Roman tried to settle her in, I could hear her whimper when she tried to move to the right. I knew we would have to take her to the hospital soon. Not to mention I was _still_ bleeding out of my arm.

Roman shut the back door and got in the front seat. None of us bothered to call an ambulance, mostly because they would ask what happened. As if noticing the blood in the office and most likely a bullet or two in the wall wasn't enough to know.

As Roman ran through multiple red lights and nearly crashed into numerous cars, I propped Marie's head up against my side. I wanted to ask her a few questions before hospital drugs messed with her head. "Marie, how did they find out?"

She was breathing heavily. "Diego suspected that someone had said something, but I don't know how he found out it was me. Alvaro probably opened his big mouth like he always does and had something stupid come out."

Well, I thought. She sure knew how to pick them. Then I remembered that she picked me, sort of, too. "What were they doing before I came, and how did you call me if they had you hostage in the back room?"

"They....t-they..." she coughed, then noticeably winced at her broken rib. Or maybe two, I wasn't sure. But she didn't stop talking. "I knew who they were when I saw the...the car, and I just knew Niko, that they found out, and I'm sorry, I..." she kept coughing, and through each one she managed out a word. "...I'm...s-so...sorry..."

She coughed a little more, and then she finally shut her eyes. My heart jumped in my chest, and I immediately checked her pulse to see if anything else was wrong. But thankfully, it was fine. I breathed slowly to make my heart stop jumping around, then leaned back. "Roman, hurry up..." I murmured. I was loosing energy, fast, and I didn't want anything else to go wrong when I was out cold.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" he nearly yelled. The panic in his voice was beyond obvious. I closed my eyes, and Mallorie's voice was the last thing in my mind that stuck.

"Roman, I'm sorry too...."

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. My mind was fairly quick at realizing I was safe, for now, so I didn't panic. I took a look around the room; it was the normal Schottler hospital room, with a few other people laying on cots across from me, and two doors with for people to come in. I heard some voices outside in the hallway, but it was fairly quiet besides that.

I looked over at my arm too see what had been done. I notice that there was a red stain wear a bandage had been placed, but it wasn't bleeding. I guess I must have pulled out whatever stitches they had placed in. I sighed, irritated; I would probably have to be here for a few more hours, unless I had already been her for about 24. Neither of these thoughts made me feel any better.

I figured that since I was probably going to be here awhile, then I might as well use the time wisely. Thinking about what had happened was necessary.

So I had met Diego. His face made my lip curl. Marie was right on target with her description of him: cruelly polite and fucking asinine. He wasn't easily scared, I could tell. And even though it was only a few guys with him, I'm sure he had a little more influence. Honestly, I didn't think he had a enough to be a gang threat, but enough to be an important enemy by himself.

But he didn't really know what was going on. Mallorie and Alfredo hadn't paid any money, so they _would_ come back, just like Diego said. I could see the taxi cab company burning down again...this would be bad. Jacob was right. It never ended.

The realization of this, that I had had over and over again, was one of the only things that made me feel worse then usual. Depression was perpetual with me, but life just seemed to get worse. There weren't any happy parts, not anymore...

I snarled, and banged my head against the back of my hospital bed. I needed to get back on track. There was too much shit going on for me to be thinking about my own depression. I had to get my thoughts together, then maybe a plan. Looking at it, the first thing I needed to do was make sure Mallorie and Roman were alright. I knew that Mallorie was already about 6 months along, but she really wasn't that noticeable. Which meant someone blurted that out. But not matter who did, we lost whatever time Marie gave us. I didn't really doubt that Diego was going to go to someone with this. The asshole would probably need all the support he could get anyway; the question was whether or not someone like Alvaro- or worse, someone higher up than Alvaro- would believe him.

The door opening cut into my thoughts, and I jerked my neck up to see who it was.

A girl with long, thin black hair that went down to her hips walked in. She had a set of bangs that framed her face, and her eyes were a the rare, sparkling light blue. I had never seen someone with that combination of colors, but it didn't look bad. She looked like she was mixed, Caucasian and African-American. She was dressed in a nurses clothing, so I assumed she was the one in charge of this room.

"Hello." she said. She smiled at me, but I didn't say anything back. I just stared at her, wondering why she was even bothering talking to me. To be honest I just wanted her to go away.

I guess she got the message. "It's alright, I suppose, you don't need to talk. But since your friends aren't allowed in yet, you should consider yourself pretty lucky that I'm your nurse." I just stared into space, as she walked over to a monitor. I was barely listening to what she was saying anyway. "From what I've heard of your personality, you probably don't care," Well, she was right about that. "but you will when you hear what I say next." I turned my head to look blankly at her, and she glanced at me out of the corner of my eye. She was still smiling, which made me strangely perturbed. She was so sure of herself. "You listening?" I slightly, ever so slightly, nodded my head. She went back to checking up on things, and touched my arm. I flinched back, but she unwrapped the bandage.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to pull out the stitches I helped put in." she chuckled. I still wasn't really comfortable with her, but I didn't pull away. "So, Niko Bellic, I'm sure your concerned about your family and...friend." she ended on the last word like she didn't really think it was a friend. And when I found out who she meant, I realized that _she_ wouldn't be considered just a friend at this point. "Marie has two broken ribs- which you probably already figured out- but thankfully neither punctured her lung. She in a different room, bandaged up and on some meds, so it'll be a while before anyone can effectively communicate with her. Your cousin, Roman, is fine just a little shaken and discussing some things with his wife. She, Mallorie had a few stitches, and is...well, she's alright."

She had paused. I was sitting in a hospital, probably on medication- though probably not medication as potent as whatever Marie was on- after getting out of a near gunfight, and the woman who was a _nurse_ and was supposed to know how to deal with people _paused_?! "What about the kid?" I got out, and just barely. I realized how dry my throat was, and how thirsty it made me feel. The heard my voice crackle, and gave me a cup of water from a table in between my bed and another. It tasted weird, unlike water, and like something was in it. I immediately spit it, but she grasped my hand and the cup.

"I know it tastes odd, but it's not poisoned!" she hissed, and she sounded as irritated as I felt. "It's enhance with electrolytes, so that you don't get dehydrated, idiot." She gave me a little more, and I reluctantly drank it. It tasted like shit to me, but it made my throat feel normal, which meant I could speak easily.

"Her kid, what's wrong with her kid?" I asked hastily, and my throat cut of my speech again. As she got me more water, the nurse began to talk.

"Well, there's nothing _wrong_, exactly with her kid, but the doctors are afraid that if she's injured again then she risks have a miscarriage, or delivering early. Her arm, like I said, has been stitched up, but the laceration was nothing like a bullet wound." She raised her eyebrows and gave me a knowing look; if I had been able to talk, I probably would have told her to fuck off. "But you'll be out of here in a few hours, actually. We just need you to keep drinking water, and tell you when to come back in, and you'll be fine. Mallorie has already been released, and from what I saw...she and you're cousin aren't upset." She smiled again. I still didn't like it, but at least it was with the bringing of good news.

Then I thought. "And Marie?"

Her smile went away. She had a deep frown on her face; something was up. "Marie..._should_, be let out, in a couple hours. It's just...well, she needs a ride you know."

Now I was very confused. Why would this be a problem. "Why is that a problem?"

She looked at me like I was stupid. "You're not upset with her? After all that happened?"

"No! I just need to, you know talk with her-" I stopped. How...would this nurse know why this had all happened? I mean, I was sure that Roman would've been naive enough to tell her what happened to each of us, but he didn't know about everything that was going on. "How...how do you know about all of that?"

She stopped halfway for putting down the water pitcher. It took her a moment, but then she composed herself, and smoothed out her nurse clothing. Then she started to walk toward the door. "Wait! Wait!" I started jerking around, but she didn't pay attention. "Who are you?!" I yelled, and I woke up somebody in the cots next to me. I heard them grumble about shutting up, but I raised my hand flicked off whoever that was. "Who are you?!" I repeated.

Abruptly, she turned to me, her face the picture of being pissed off, and snarled. "My name is Uiara, alright?! Just make sure that Marie can go back to your place for right now, it's not safe at my apartment!" Then she stormed out of the door, and down the hall.

The moments after that happened, I didn't understand what had just happened, or why it mattered. After a few second though, I got it. I remembered who she was now; she was the friend Marie had been living with. I briefly remembered the her joyful, annoying screams, but I quickly moved onto other things. Why did this matter?

I looked around my head, remembering past conversations. I tried to remember what everyone had said at the taxi cab company, the conversations, if you could call them that....and...oh. What Diego said.

_ "Don't think I don't know things, Marie. I know about Alvaro, about Uiara, about everything."_

Diego knew something important. Something that made Uiara, or whoever she was, relevant to Mallorie's problem. I just then got how bad this could all be.

It could possibly be as bad as Dimitri Rascalov.


	11. Chapter 11

An Emerald  
Chapter 11  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

It would have been a long, quiet drive to my apartment. If I hadn't opened my mouth.

Obviously, I wasn't fit to be operating a vehicle, and neither was Marie, so Roman took the courtesy of driving us there on his and Mallorie's way home. Over the past few months, they had surprisingly save enough money to buy a townhouse, and there were supposed to have moved in today. It wasn't a particularly nice one, but it wasn't as bad as the shit hole apartment they had lived in before in Bohan. Besides, it had an extra room for the baby, so it was a good buy on their part.

But getting back to the drive. Roman and Mallorie seemed to be in better spirits then I thought they would be; I guess they had talked things over. Knowing Roman, he would probably be understanding of why Mallorie didn't tell him. Which meant I didn't need to worry about him making an angry asshole of himself.

But things between me and Marie were...different. Both of us were starting to come off our meds, so that set the stage for a bad mood. And besides that there was the fact that basically, because of Marie, Diego would probably be getting a whole group of people to come for us. And that was the problem. It was just us.

Well, actually, I didn't really think it was Marie's fault. I mean, she had tried to help. And it had worked pretty well, until Diego came looking anyway, a problem she wasn't able to perceive. And even though she might have wanted to look at it another way, I knew what would happen. It wouldn't be her word against his; it would be her word against his, his friends in Los Cabrones, AND the guys that had been with him at the depot. I sighed when thinking about the depot. I sure hoped they wouldn't burn it down again, since it had taken a good amount of money for Roman to got back and renovate it _and_ take care of another depot at the same time.

I was getting frustrated now. The meds were making my thoughts go constantly off topic, when I was trying to do some deep thinking. Ironically, deep thinking came when I didn't want it, and when I did- like now- it just wouldn't stay in place.

It was enough. I had to talk about it, if I couldn't think about it. "Roman, pull over here."

"What?" he asked, startled from his incessant staring at the road. We were near Firefly Island- God knows why, since we were heading for the Algonquin Bridge- so that probably made him more confused. "Why?"

"Please just do it." I asked again. He and Mallorie glanced at each other; she looked as confused as he did. It just that she probably knew what was to come anyway.

I took a quick look at Marie, and I found that she was just staring out the window. Ever since I had said to pull over, she had taking in deep breaths, as if they were her last before diving into cold water.

That made me feel _really _appreciated. Real loved. No wonder she smoked marijuana; drugs made her act like a bitch.

He pulled over next to a few hot dog stands, and after turning off the car he turned around to look at me. Marie glanced my way as well, and Mallorie kept moving her eyes between all three of us. Basically, all eyes were on me.

I sighed, and began what I had to say. "Alright, so the main problem is that Diego and some guys want money. The big part is that Los Cabrones, now that they know they've been lied to, are going to want someone to blame. Which means someone to torture, kill, or take over every back account from."

"Oh please." Marie muttered. "You're over exaggerating."

"Not when the people I'm talking about check for offshore bank accounts." I raised my eyebrows, which only made hers go down in a glare. I ignored it, for now. " Which means they're coming after us. Because we didn't take care of them before, so-"

"It was taken care of!" Marie yelled. Mallorie gasped, and grabbed the side of her seat. It had been so quiet that Marie's shout had the equal sound of someone shooting the car. I locked eyes with Marie.

"No it wasn't." I hissed. "You opened your mouth, lied and made it worse. And now, your little friends are after my family. I don't like people fucking around with my family. So if I need to hurt a few people, you're going to need to back off."

"This is not my fault!" she hissed back. "I tried to fix this mess! I didn't know that he would go straight to the depot, it's not usually how they do things! And not all of them are like Diego, Niko!"

"Well, that's too fucking bad! If you'd have let me deal with this, then only Diego would've gotten hurt." I was pissed. _Really_ pissed. "Just because you feel bad for them, because they used to be your friends, isn't an excuse!"

"I know that! I thought you wanted my help. Too bad I didn't know what an asshole you could really be!" she wasn't too happy either, now. Her hand flew against the window out of rage, with a loud _smack_. I guess she was so hyped that she didn't feel it, though. "Just because they're coming for you, and are probably gonna _kill me_-"

Suddenly her hands flew to her mouth. She kept them there, and her eyes widened. They were the same length they had been when she was looking around Mallorie's old apartment block.

"What?" I asked. I moved my hand up to hers, and slowly mouthed them down. She licked her lips, and kept her mouth shut. "Marie, what is it?! Why would they kill you?" I asked again. She just averted her eyes, and grumbled 'nothing'.

"It's not nothing!" I shouted. "I met Uiara, Marie! I remember Diego mentioning her! What happened?"

There were a few moments of tension-filled silence. Marie looked like she was conflicted between telling me or keeping her mouth shut. Actually, it was Mallorie that spoke first.

"Uiara snitched!" she shouted. All heads snapped onto her, but Marie starts shaking her head.

"Mallorie, don't-"

"Marie, I love you amiga, I really do, but this isn't just you now!" she exclaimed. "This involves all of us." Then everything came out.

"Niko, Uiara snitched on one of Los Cabrones' drug dealers. They deal with everything from drugs to weapons, so it's a important that they have as many people as they can get. So the drug dealer was Uiara's ex, and Uiara was a crackhead. So you know what it would be like for her? Uiara was pissed, man. After she had a little bit of self-rehab, she got back at him by snitching. She found out from Marie when the next drug deal would be, and called the cops on the whole thing. He got away from them, but he knew it was her. Just knew it. So he went to her apartment, and threatened her with a bunch of things. _This_" she exaggerated, pointing to Marie. "girl was there with her, obviously, and he was the one that assaulted her and Uiara. She defended herself though. Nearly killed the bastard is what she did."

She briefly paused, and looked at all of us. Roman's mouth was hanging open, in that funny way. Even now it looked pretty stupid, but I couldn't exactly laugh. My mouth was hanging open the exact same way. Marie was just frozen, and had a look that could kill. Thankfully Mallorie wasn't looking at her.

"So," Mallorie began again. "Uiara had two reasons to get him thrown in jail, and he _did_ get thrown in jail. He's at the one in Alderney, now. When Joaquin- he's like third-in-command for Los Cabrones- found out that one of the main drug dealers had been thrown in jail, one _he_ recruited, he was _pissed_. He wanted to know who it was, where they were, and when and how they could kill them. So Marie went to Alvaro, while they were still together, and he realized that Marie would be blamed too. So he stole some money- a lot of money, actually- from Los Cabrones, without anyone knowing, and gave it to her. Then she and Uiara sent it to them through Alvaro, and because of how much it was Joaquin just accepted it as pay for Uiara's ex's life. Her didn't know who it was from; Alvaro pretended that he had received in the mail. Joaquin didn't know that it was money the gang had all along. Then Alvaro probably opened his mouth up to Diego without realizing it- probably when he was drunk or something- and now Diego is planning to blackmail Marie. It's just that since he hadn't seen her, he didn't even know that she was in the city. That's why she was so edgy around Bohan; it's were Diego lives. But now that he knows shes here and still six feet _over_ the ground, he won't stop from using this against her, or us."

When she finished, she took a few large breaths. After the last one, she turned around in her seat and landed with a _thud_ against the head rest.

Roman, after a lot of blinking and turning his head from person to person, finally finished taking in everything that had just been told to him. "You're saying that we have a group of ruthless, violent people coming after us for _two_ reasons?!"

"Yes, Roman." Mallorie said with a sigh. His mouth was still open, but he just flopped his head against the seat like Mallorie had. If no one had spoken up, we probably could have sat there for hours. But someone had to say something.

"So what is going to happen if they do come looking for us?" I asked, and it was almost a whisper. But Marie heard me, loud and clear.

"They'll go looking for Mallorie. They've already tried going to the workplace, but that failed. And now that they know she's pregnant, that'll make her even more vulnerable." Marie answered, and she was whispering a little too. "I'll probably have to choose between Los Cabrones or you guys again, and if I choose you guys then Diego will tell them about everything. They really don't like be double-crossed, let alone made an idiot out of. They go after me, Uiara...Alvaro...."

The air still had that tension. It was there because honestly, none of us really knew who Marie would choose. And that last sentence made the one choice we didn't want even more likely to be the one chosen.


	12. Chapter 12

An Emerald  
Chapter 12  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

"So when are you going to kick me out?"

She said this at normal voice level, as she was putting some clothes she had just bought next to the couch. I had been sorting out some food in the kitchen area. I turned toward her, and saw that she wasn't angry at this point. When we got back she would not talk to me at all; she just commented that she needed some clothes for the night and tomorrow, and had gone out the door and hadn't come back for half and hour. When she had, her face looked blank. I thought it was on purpose though. The anger was still in her eyes, though. The glimmer was there.

"To be honest Marie, I didn't want you to come in the first place. But your friend said that you couldn't go to her place, and as long as you work for my cousin then I have no choice but to help."

She stopped putting clothes down next to the couch, and just stood there for a minute. "You didn't answer my question." she mumbled.

"Well, maybe if you stop trying to help people then you would have a permanent place to live." I shot back.

Then I felt a shirt flying in my face.

My vision was suddenly a complete white, and I clawed it off my face, frustrated. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"I'm getting pissed, is what I'm doing!" she said. "What is your fucking problem?! So things didn't go as planned, but that doesn't mean that the world is going to catch on fire. What do you want from me?!"

"I want you to be on our side!" I yelled. She had a pair of pants in her hand ready to pitch towards my face, but she lowered her hand to listen. I didn't even notice this until after I finished speaking. "I know what you did was for us! I know that it should've worked, and that it wasn't your fault that it happened! I. KNOW!!"

She lowered her hand even more, and a look of confusion crossed her face. I continued on. "But most of the time, people are persuaded. You've known them longer, Marie, it's not asinine to expect you to help them instead of us. I just met you, I barely know you, and so what if you helped me once? Just because you help me once doesn't earn my trust. It takes a little longer."

I turned away from her, and went to open the window. Anything to look away from her face at that point. It was about 4 AM right now, since Uiara had gotten us out of the hospital early; that had been at about 2 AM. Marie was awake then, thanks to the meds messing up her sleep cycle, but I wasn't. That hadn't made me any nicer in Roman's car, so I had probably been a little more harsh than I should've been. I thought about this while I was opening the window, but my thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the street.

"Hey, bredren!" I recognized the familiar voice, and immediately looked down from my window.  
"Hey Jacob! Come up. What the hell are you doing out on the street at 4 AM, man?" Marie heard, dropped her clothes near the couch, and ran toward the window. All that had just happened in the last 30 seconds was gone, and Marie was cramming next to me to look out the window. I actually felt myself smiling, especially when saw that Lora was with him. "Come on, man." I shouted, "come in!"

"I and Lora thought you come back, after I heard that bumbaclot went to Roman's place." he walked to the building door, and in a few minutes he was up the stairs. I opened the door, and he waltzed in with Lora close behind. She stopped to talk with Marie and hand her a bag, with what looked like marijuana, and then continued towards me. I took a good look at her, and she seemed much happier than last time. The bags under her eyes were lighter, and she looked better in general.

"Hey star." she said affectionately, and gave me hug. Jacob came after her and repeated the favor, and they then went over to Marie. "Hey, why uno have bandages and thing? Marie, sidung!" she took Marie over to the couch, and took back the bag from Marie. "Jacob, mix this ganja for I sister here. She don't look to well." Marie smiled at Lora's form of kindness, and Lora grasped her hand. Jacob smiled, and took the bag over to the kitchen were he started to get a bunch of cooking supplies out.

"So, tell I bredren, what happen? I hear some bumbaclot stick a tack in ya." he got out a pan, and pulled some sort of dough from Lora's purse that she had sat near the stove.

"Well, Marie's plan didn't work out." I glanced toward her, and I saw what I expected; she was frowning again. "Diego threatened Mallorie, Roman, and Marie with a few thugs at the cab company. They got away, and they didn't really hurt Roman or Mallorie's kid, but they got Mallorie in the arm with a knife. Me and Marie got in some trouble, too."

"Raas, rhaatid!" Lora exclaimed. "Mallorie got one rude boy after her. Marie, I think you hang on with smadi sanfi, seen? And I sorry bout that ganja Marie, I don't got ya usual spliff. But ya won't believe what I got for ya; some good lambsbread, sister! A gift from the Badman himself." I didn't get all of that, as usual. But she was probably talking about the way Marie usually took marijuana. Sounded like whatever they were making her was nice stuff.

"Lora, Marie don't care much ya know. Niko, ya want some ganja? Good stuff, man." Thought so.

Usually I would've said no, since I tended to stray away from drugs. But the sore feeling in my arm was coming back, so how bad could it be? "Sure man, make some for me too if you got enough. But you and Lora need to talk to me and the rest of our friends about something." They turned towards me, and looked curious as to what I had to say. I breathed, and asked them with a smile on my face "Why didn't you guys tell everyone you got married?"

"Excuse me?!" squeaked Marie. Her grip must have gotten tighter, because Lora winced while her hand was still in Marie. I had been a little wary of Jacob and hers reactions. But Lora was keeping back something on her face, and she let it go; it was a smile.

"Kiss me neck, man, how ya know that?" Jacob laughed, and Lora chuckled along with him. He turned to her while separating the dough. "Star, ya tell him? I don't, ya nuh see? Just kidding star, love ya girl." She raised her eyebrows, and tried to be serious. But Jacob looked at her with a grin on his face, and she started laughing even more, with him along suit. They were so...in sync.

"Jacob, maybe you should remember that I'm a criminal too." I heard Marie's giggle, so light and airy; she remembered the car we had stolen just yesterday. "I know how to access a police car, man."

"Aah, I shoulda figured ya would, star. But Niko, man, I love this girl right here. And ya know something?" he nodded her head at her, and she followed suit for confirmation on something. "This star is gonna be my baby mother, bredren."

It took me AND Marie a minute to get that. But we both did the exact same thing when we figured it out; we looked at each other with our mouths hanging open.

"Jacob....Jacob, man, you're going to have a _kid_?" I stuttered. He nodded his head grinning. He looked happy, and so did Lora. I saw what was pride in both of their eyes, and I experience a feeling of ecstasy for them. They were settling down. They were going to have a family.

"Jacob, man!" I yelled, and I went over and hugged him again, pounding him on the back. I heard a light giggle behind me, and I figured it was Marie. I realized that we had just gone from being pissed with each other to sharing in our mutual friends' happiness.

Marie and Lora happily talked for a minute in the background, but then Marie's voice commanded the entire room's conversation. "But, Jacob" she asked "what are you and Lora going to do, since she's...sick?"

For the first time since they had walked in my apartment, Jacob and Lora got quieter. Jacob slowed down in his actions, which now was sprinkling marijuana in the dough. Lora's smile went down, and frowned, averting her gaze to the open window.

"What sickness?" I asked. No one answered. I remember seeing how thin she was when she and Jacob stayed at Playboy's apartment. The scars on her arms were still unexplained too. "Anyone want to talk here?"

"My girl just sick, Niko." Jacob said, quietly. "Doctors say she got, uh, hyperthyroid."

I wasn't getting it today. "What?"

"Niko," Marie said, the first calm thing she had said to me today, "Lora has hyperthyroidism. It makes her metabolism extremely high, so her body doesn't produce that much fat. Since this happens, unless Lora gets therapy, there's a chance that she could have a miscarriage." she turned to Lora. "Lora, you checked to make sure it wasn't just your period going away, right?"

"Ya, star, all everything cook and curry. Inna di morrows, I go to hospital with Jacob. My star, he make good baby father. Ya nuh see it?"

Marie smiled at her and Jacob. And when she looked at me, she kept it. "Niko, they're going to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow. She's pregnant. They're just worried that they won't be able to pay for medication, let alone therapy. But I think they're going to see Uiara," she raised her eyebrow towards Jacob. "right?"

"Ya, sister." Jacob had just put, as what I now figured to be cookies, in the stove. "I find money for her. Don't worry."

After that, it was a little quiet while everyone took in the news of another baby to come. Lora was about 3 months along, he said; she wasn't eating anything but I-tal, with the exception of some meats and other things. She would probably need to eat whatever she got soon though, since she wanted to get more nutrients. Then Jacob started talking to us about how he was going to find some people to help us out. He had a feeling something big was going to go down, and I shared that feeling. Lora, since she obviously couldn't explicitly help in her condition, was going to ask some people at Homebrew Cafe. As we sat talking, Marie didn't say much. But me and her exchanged a few glances, and even though we didn't exactly talk after they left, we weren't as cruel toward each other as we had been before. And truthfully, I didn't like being upset with her.

Kind of like how it had been with Kate.


	13. Chapter 13

An Emerald  
Chapter 13  
By: The New Girl of Lycanthropy

We talked about what was going to happen the entire night through. It was a touchy subject for Marie; we were basically planning how to fight and potentially kill some of her old friends, her family in Liberty City. But she was composed, and even offered in her piece a few times. She probably would've talked more if she wasn't still a little upset with me.

Jacob was going to ask some of the Hillside Posse what they knew, since they communicated with a lot of people around the city. We thought it would be best if we kept our searching local to each persons' areas; I would look around Dwayne's area too. The man was depressed as hell, but I knew he would help me. Marie was going to stick around Algonquin and keep low for awhile, and avoid Bohan since Diego was probably still pissed off. We discussed what would happen with Roman and Mallorie, and figured that we couldn't do anything about them. Lora offered to have Mallorie come to Homebrew Cafe whenever it was necessary, and they would even have something mutual to talk about now.

That was another thing. Lora was talking about going around Broker with Jacob, but he was against it at all costs. He was worried for her already, I could tell. I could just imagine worrying about your wife and child surviving without medical help, let alone an up and coming gang war. He was going to ask for help from Badman and the Hillside Posse; it would be difficult. They had always had civil ties with Los Cabrones, according to him. That was something that wasn't easily found in this big city. No one really knew what was going to happen, since we we're still working our way up the food chain. And Los Cabrones were way up. But he stood his ground on one thing. He didn't want her to have anything to do with it, and I think that was one of the only times I had seen seriously argue with each other.

But that tension quickly passed, and we went on talking. No one was really tired, even after 2 hours had passed on. Jacob's cookies had finished, and he had eaten a few himself. Lora refused any, seeing as though she wasn't really up to digesting anything she didn't need to, let alone marijuana. After awhile of talking though, Jacob got into a weird stage between high and tired, so Lora figured it was time to go, all of us quietly chuckling as she ushered him out the door. As they went out, I noticed Marie's eyes drooping as well. I noticed the sun was starting to rise outside, but my body wanted to sleep anyway. I had to finish up my and Marie's earlier conversation though.

I walked over and sat down next to her in a chair that had been pulled into the middle of the room. Her head was purposely turned down, her thick hair covering her face. "Marie, we need to talk."

She looked up at me, pushing her hair behind her ear. I started. "I just...I need your help. I like you a lot. You're a nice girl, a pretty girl. You're a friend to all of us, and I don't want to fight you. I know that Diego was your friend and all, but I can't let him keep doing this."

She kept staring, looking for something. I just wasn't sure what. "Do you get it? I'm asking you to be on our side. You could be here for Lora, Mallorie, you could work at Roman's company-"

"What are we?" She caught me off guard with that one.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. I didn't exactly know what she meant.

"Am I just some other girl you slept with, or do you consider yourself to be in a relationship with me?" She kept staring at me, waiting for my answer.

I thought about it for one moment, literally. Was she a good person? Yes, inherently so. And did I like her?

Yeah. I liked her a lot...I just didn't know if I could forget everything that had happened before Marie. Or if people would let me. Like Jacob said, it was never over. But even Jacob had settled down; knowing that, I was starting to believe that it was possible that on this one thing, Jacob was wrong.

"I thought we were in a relationship. But I if you're not on our side, that's not possible." I told her blatantly. Then she did a strange thing, which was normal since she was a strange girl.

She smiled. All teeth baring, she smiled that smile I knew so well. In the future, that smile would mean so many promises for me.

At the present though, it was just a confirmation. "Ok. Oh, Niko, I was always on your side you know. But it would've been really awkward if your answer hadn't just been a yes." Her smile was wide and true, and her head start to bend back down until I did something I didn't expect myself to do.

I kissed her full on that smile. I could feel her take in a breath, but she didn't pull away. She was kissing into me soon enough, and we kept in that position for a while, just being close to one another. With a damaged arm and two ribs between the two of us, we didn't get too into it- well, actually we would after eating those cookies, but we still didn't. But when I finished kissing her, her smile was still there. Just wider. She didn't sleep on the couch that day either.

When I did wake up with Marie laying down next to me, I wasn't surprised to find her there. It was relaxing, actually, to find her still there. To not have to necessarily leave the apartment any time soon. I just saw her, and I knew she wasn't going anywhere either.

I looked over at the clock, and was shocked to find out that it was already 7 AM, _of the next day_. Damn, I thought, those cookies knocked us out for 13 damn hours. I felt a brief moment of comedic relief thinking of Jacob being either asleep or loopy for 13 hours. Lora must've loved that.

I got out of bed, and walked towards the kitchen. I saw some of the cookies in a plastic bag sitting on the counter, and took them off and put them in the back of a cupboard behind some rum. I figured that something so potent should only be used when alcohol was also necessary. I peered into the refrigerator to see if we had anything in there; I pulled out pancake batter and grapefruit juice. Nothing fancy like crappy diner food this morning.

I heard Marie yawn as I poured a small amount of batter in a pan. I heard her footsteps as she walked toward the kitchen, and propped her elbow on my shoulder. "So, Niko, whats on the schedule for today? I wouldn't mind staying inside, but I wouldn't mind leaving either."

"Well," I replied. "I was thinking of going to visit Roman and Mallorie. Check out the townhouse. It's Tuesday, right?"

"Yup," she said, taking a glass out of the cupboard. "April 16th, 2009." she poured herself a glass of grapefruit, then went over to the window. As she looked out, the pancake batter sizzled, with a good smell though. I heard someone laughing outside, and listened to the sound of cars go by to work. It felt like on TV, where everything seems to be right in the world.

But seeing as though this world had nothing right in it, the feeling soon went away. I heard the same people laughing cussing in a few minutes, and a car hit something metal. I heard Marie mumble and glimpsed her shaking her head, and I guess she had had that feeling too. It went away too fast.

"Alright, well, I'm going to take a shower, and I guess we'll head over to Roman's after eating." She walked over to the bathroom, but continued talking. "You know," she said. "I was thinking about going to see Lora at the hospital. I know it's weird to say that I had a good time last night, but I did. I just want to make sure she's ok. Plus, I gotta tell Uiara that...." she trailed off, then poked her head out of the bathroom. "Well, actually I was going to ask you about that."

"Hmm?" I questioned, as I took one pancake from the pan and flopped it on the plate. I started eating it, figuring I could make hers in a minute. "What is it?"

"Well...." she put her arm against the door, nervously. "I was wondering, if since we're in a relationship, I could possibly...stay here."

I kept chewing my food for a minute, because to be honest, I was more focused on how worried she was. But now that I had heard what it was, I was thinking 'Oh. That's it?' But I shook out of my thinking, and quickly talked back. "Yeah, sure. It's not like I'd want you out of here or anything."

Her eyes widened momentarily, but she quickly regained composure. "Oh. You really don't have a problem with me staying here?"

"Yeah." I said nonchalantly. "It's alright. I mean, ever since last night I thought that it was assumed. I'm sorry, if I made you think otherwise-"

"Oh no! I just wasn't sure that's all." she said, and smiled brightly. "Alright. Yeah. Thanks, Niko!" she giggled for a few moments, and went back into the bathroom. I smirked, and kept eating.

So...my girlfriend was moving in. It was a little quick, but necessary. I knew that, and I accepted it. Suddenly, for just a moment, I imagined what it would be like to have someone with me. To have someone there each morning. Someone to talk with, to split the rent with. Someone to sit in the bathroom with whenever the electricity went out. For a moment, I knew what Roman saw in marrying Mallorie, and the happiness he felt when he spoke of his child. It was his family. A family that he had always wanted to be a part of, but that he had never had.

But as I said, it was a for a moment. Then I realized where I was. Hell, this was Liberty City; once people got in, most of them never got out. And I doubted that I was anything special. Roman wasn't leaving; sure, he had talked about it, but he would never go through with it. Maybe it was because of me, like how it was because of me that he didn't have my mother come here. But that was a good thing, I guess. For both issues.

I heard another car crash outside, and went on with my morning. I was certainly never getting out of this city. But maybe, somehow, I could come to call it my home.


	14. Chapter 14

An Emerald  
Chapter 14  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

Things didn't go as smoothly as we planned them. They didn't go downhill completely, at least, but what happened next was not the best time for me.

At first, it was just something Marie needed to check up on. "Hey, Niko," she asked, lying down on the bed. She had changed into some light clothing; some cargo pants and a T-shirt with one of my jackets was all. A few minutes ago she had been in the same place wearing nothing; obviously I was also in a happier mood a few minutes ago. "I need to go back to Uiara's house to get a few things, and check on her. Like her sponser, you know? She's been off crack for a while, but I need to make sure from time to time. She can...slip up, sometimes."

"Alright," I replied. "that's fine. I just don't think we can stay there too long. I already texted Roman earlier telling him that we were going over to his place later on."

"That's fine, it's just..." she trailed off, and took a breath. "Well, Uiara has a kid, you see, a son. His dad's not around, and I usually help take care of him. So when we go there, if he seems a little quiet, don't think about it. He just..."

She sighed, and her eyebrows came together in a worried look. I stared at her, and finished her sentence. "He just hasn't had a normal life, right?"

"Yeah." she said. "Right."

"I understand." I went to get a pistol from the couch, and putting it next to her purse on the floor. "Put that in your bag. It's such a sack that no one will notice a gun sticking out of it." she giggled, and bounced up from the bed. "Now," I asked. "I suppose wherever your friend lives isn't that normal either?"

"Oh no, she has a yard with some pretty flowers. And she has someone take care of her yard so that weeds don't grow, because that would just be unacceptable." she replied sarcastically.

"Haha" I chuckled, "she lives in Bohan, doesn't she?" Marie simply tilted her head and smirked, then opened the door out of the apartment.

Once we got outside, we realized we didn't have a car. That was taken care of in the next 3 minutes, thanks to the handgun in Marie's purse. After getting into the car, I noticed that Marie had something sticking out of one of the pockets in her pants. I looked closer, and realized that it was a knife. It looked like an army knife that I had seen the occasional Army member in Liberty City pull out often. "Where did you get that knife?" she looked down, and smiled.

"A souvenir, from our friend Diego." she said, mockingly innocent. "He wasn't paying attention to her jean pocket while I was on top of him. Didn't even come after us for it either."

She was obviously proud of herself, and so was I. Anything to make him more irritated at this point was enough for me. "Perhaps he was too busy trying to get you off him. You can be a very rough girl, Marie." I chuckled. She got a funny half-smile on her face, and glanced down, not commenting. She knew it was much better if she didn't try to get into that subject.

"I won't go there right now. However I do want to ask," she turned my way. "about your life. How would you know the difference between normal and crap?"

I didn't answer her at first. I was thinking of how to say it. "Well...for one, my father was an ass." Marie just looked at me. Her eyes were set on my face, ready to listen. I continued as I sharply turned the car around a corner. "He was a drunk. He got drunk almost every day. He was Roman's father's brother. My uncle was no different from my father, Marie. They were wife-beaters, and my mother was not the strongest woman. They beat me and Roman as well. It was something that happened often, and we had no where to go to."

I sped up on the highway, and Marie held onto the side of her car seat. "My mother was Croatian, but my father was Serbian. But he cared so little about me that I got her last name." I chuckled darkly, and I noticed Marie's eyes darken as well. "Bellic. I'm so fucking thankful I have that name instead of his. I can't even remember his last name, and I don't care to think about it. He hurt my mother...he hurt me." I didn't realize how depressed I sounded until I listened to myself. I looked over at Marie, and saw that she looked a little worried as well. I breathed, and smiled weakly at her.

"He drank himself to death though," I informed her. "and Roman's father did as well soon after. But while our fathers were around, Roman's mother mainly raised us. Her name was Jasna. She was a good person, a good mother to Roman. She and my mother- her name is Milica- are some of the only people in my family that I cared for."

"Cared?" Marie questioned, for the first time during my rant. "Don't you still?"

Now came the hard part. The part where I wasn't sure what to tell her. "Marie...." I looked at her face, and I was afraid I would find fear. But she looked at me with nothing but curiosity, and comfort. She put her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "Marie, I was involved in the wars. Bosnian Wars. I was younger, a little younger than you are now. I served as a helicopter pilot, an infantryman. Roman's mother died, and I know how from some of the people in my army unit. His mother was raped and murdered."

I heard a small intake of breath, and her hand went limp for a minute. I continued looking at the road, and kept driving. It was quiet; I guess Marie was trying to figure out what to say to so much stuff at once. "Niko...I don't know what to say to that. But I'm...it..." she huffed, and looked frustrated. "I feel bad for you. I know you've probably heard that a lot, but I really do."

"It's alright. You mean well." I told her, and I felt her grip on my shoulder come back. The car came to a red light, and I looked at her seriously. "But Marie, this is between you and me. Roman must not no." she opened her mouth to ask something, but I stopped her. "Marie, I told him his mother died in a house fire. It is better that way, for him."

She raised her eyebrow. "Niko, he should know the-"

"The truth?" I sneered, but as I hit the gas pedal on the green light, I made sure my voice was softer. "The truth is terrible sometimes, Marie. Sometimes, people are better off not knowing."

She opened her mouth again, but then stopped herself. She had a look of deep thought, then shook her head. "I get it- really I do." she said when I glanced at her. "Roman won't hear anything about this. But what happened to your mother?"

"Well," I began. "She was safe during the war. She was upset that I grew up in such a place, and that I fought in the war, but I was young and stupid to be perfectly honest. I made sure to keep in touch with her. I had a brother, named Josef. He was a good brother- we were not as close as me and Roman, but it was not bad between us. WE both understood each other, when my father delivered the same treatment to us both. It's that our relationship was...complicated. He was a bit older, and got away from the place we grew up in quickly. He was also an infantryman in the wars, though. I saw him once during that time, and it was nice. We talked, he asked about our mother, and then we continued on to wherever we were going. But then, my unit and I came to a town that had been burned by our enemies. As we walked through it, we recognized some people from our village; the ones that were dead. One of them was my brother."

We were now near an apartment block, in Bohan. I pulled over into a parking space once I looked around and didn't recognize anyone. AS I came to a stop, Marie turned her body and looked at me. I looked back at her, wondering what she was thinking. "Josef...Bellic." she stated. I looked at her, confused. She smiled weakly. "Your father didn't even care for him, did he? I can't...think about what you felt when you saw him. Was it sadness, or just discomfort?" She shook her head. "You were probably upset. He was your brother, after all."

I stared at her blankly for a few minutes. I wanted her to understand, but I wasn't sure if she did. She had no idea of the numerous, horrible things I had done. How I had seen children with their throats slit lined up against the wall; I had seen friends, half-alive with part of their brain cut out, just laying there like they weren't human. How I had killed so many people, lined other against a wall and shot them. She didn't know about Darko Brevic, or any of the people in my unit. I didn't know if she, this girl that had grown up in a fairly normal place until coming to this city, would understand or run away. But there was something about her. It wasn't her understanding me because I was her lover, but more like because she wished to see some reasons why people did the things they did. She wouldn't run.

"Marie, I was upset, yes. But there were things I did, I...things I'm not proud of. They were horrible, unhonorable things. I cannot be forgived for them, and you won't like to hear them."

Marie kept looking at me, and took my hand. "Niko, whatever you tell me won't make me think any less of you. I promise."

I believed her. I took a breath, and explained the story. I told her about my unit, about Darko Brevic, even Florian I told her about. Even if most of the time she was just looking at me, she smiled sometimes when I mentioned how Florian was now. I told her about Ray Bulgarin, and how I was still looking for him. In the end, I told her about letting Darko go. And how I came here was a story, too. By the time we were done, we noticed it was well past 10 AM. We had spent an hour or so talking about it- well, me talking about it. I searched her face for the look of intimidation most 'normal' people have when they hear my story. But she, once again, only had comfort.

"Alright. So you did some bad things. We all have, haven't we?" her grip on my hand tightened, and she moved it around. "You can move on, you know. You don't need some sort of closure."

"I wish I could Marie. " I said. "Most of it I have tried not to think about. Maybe with time it will get better. But I still think about it, sometimes. It does nto make me feel the best. There are people, like Bulgarin, who are still in the city. I must make sure that they do not bother me and my family."

She frowned at this, this one thing. "Niko, you should let him go. Maybe as you let him go, he will also forget about you."

I smiled at her ignorance of the kind of man Bulgarin was, and shook my head. "He will not forget me Marie. And I cannot so easily let go of things that I have done, of seen. They have affected me too much. You know the type of person I am, I....I know the type of person I am. And I am still not proud."

She bit her lip, but nodded her head. Glancing down, she just tightened her grip again on my hand. After a few minutes, she looked up, her bright smile coming again. "Maybe you will never forget Niko. But for all you know, you could surprise yourself." She took her hand out of mine, and opened the car door. I got out of my door as well, and looked towards her.

"Has that happened to you before, Marie?" I questioned. She simply looked at me, her smile gone and her face serious. It caught me off guard, but when she spoke her voice was normal.

"Once or twice." I looked at her with distrust, and cornered her with a question. Or so I thought. "And," I asked, in a smoot voice/ "like what?"

She looked at me, and glared. But then a smirk spread across her face, and she took her hand and patted my cheek. Then she hit it harder. "Why," she said just as smoothly. "liek going out with someone like you." Then she flashed me another brilliant smile.


	15. Chapter 15

An Emerald  
Chapter 15  
By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

Marie had had me stop the car near what looked like condos. But I think that it had eventually descended into Section Eight housing. We didn't need to go far up into he apartment building, for which I was happy. I didn't exactly like seeing a bunch of guys on each floor checking out my girlfriend. After we got to the third floor, Marie simply turned to the left and started to roam around in her bag for something. "Oh," and she said. "I was just wondering about something; were your mom, and Roman's mom, sisters?"

"Yes." I answered. "They were. Me and Roman are double first cousins."

"Ok." she nodded her head. "That explains it...here!" she quickly pulled out a chain with multiple keys. They all had their individual labels on them, but not addresses. I doubted she was that stupid anyway; they each had initials on them. A small group of people were staring at us incessantly, and it was starting to irritate me. One of them called a 'Hey baby' to her, but she simply flicked them off while unlocking the door, and I saw one of them sigh. They knew that they weren't getting anywhere with her.

"Ok...let's see..." she opened the door- which took a bit of force on her part because of how screwed up it was- and walked slowly. "Uiara?" she called, slowly putting her bag down on the floor. She looked like she was going breaking into the apartment. "You in here?"

There was momentary silence in the apartment. Then a little kid came out from a room that you could see when you entered the apartment. I assumed that he was Uiara's son, since he had the same striking blue eyes. I would've thought that his skin would be the same dark-tan tone as his mother's, but surprisingly it was quite lighter. He had a dark brown color of hair, and besides the eyes he didn't look much like his mother. I felt sorry for the kid; if he didn't inherit her physical traits, then he must've inherited her mental ones. 'God help that kid' I thought.

"She's alright, Marie. But please be quiet. She's sleeping..." his voice wasn't to soft or to hard; he seemed like a normal kid; he was probably about 9. He stood there, waiting for some sort of reaction.

Marie smiled, and leaned down to the little kid's height. "Well, I'll just have to check around for a few things, as usual, alright?" The little boy gave her a weak smile at first, but it slowly went away. He tried to look away from her, and start to twirl his hands around each other. Marie cocked her head to the side, and tried to get him to look her in the face. "Davi?" she questioned, "what's up?"

He looked at her, then looked at me. He must not of really noticed me, because he stopped twirling his hands, and his eyes narrowed a bit. "Who is he?"

Marie turned her shoulder, and widened her eyes. "Him? That's my friend, Niko." The kid, Davi, raised his eyebrows at her.

"You mean your boyfriend?"

"Haha," Marie chuckled, "yes he is." Davi had a funny expression, started to fidget even more. Marie was obviously concerned, and stood back up to her normal height. "Davi, what is wrong? You've gotta tell me here, come on."

"Does he carry a gun too?" Davi suddenly asked. Marie was a little caught off guard, and started to stutter a bit. "Umm, no, he...I-" She wasn't getting anywhere, so I figured it would be good for me to jump in.

"I carry one sometimes." I answered. Davi looked almost scared by my voice, since he obviously wasn't expecting me to answer. "Most of the time, to be honest."  
Davi was quicker to become composed than Marie. He didn't look happy. "Her last boyfriend was ok, but a little weird. But the one before that always carried a gun. And he was talking in a funny sounding language, on the phone with people. Sometimes he would take out his gun and take it apart and put bullets in it." He turned to Marie, and with a knowing expression informed her "I never liked him."

"Don't worry, Davi. And don't say funny language, ok?" she scolded him. "It's not polite, and even if it does sound funny to you, it's completely normal to the other person."

"Ok. Sorry." he replied. The funny thing was, he actually _looked_ sorry. Most kids his age wouldn't even think about apologizing, let alone meaning it; I saw what Marie meant, when she talked to me about him not being the most usual person. "But," he said, and looked back at me. "you're not gonna do shoot anyone, are you? I hear shots sometimes and...I don't really like them."

Now _I_ was caught off guard. Not by his question, but because of the last part. He didn't like him. And before I answered, I realized that me and him shared that feeling. "No, not around you. Only if I have to protect you, or Marie." I half-smiled, and informed him "I don't like guns that much either. I only use them because I have to."

He still looked like he didn't really believe me, but he accepted my answer. He looked back at Marie, who grinned and ruffled his hair. "See, little man?" she joked with him, "I at least picked one good guy, huh?"

He grinned back, the first time he had smiled fully since we walked into the apartment. Then he non-chalantly answered, "We'll see."

** Kinda short, but I've had a little writer's block, as some of you who have been reading this story might have been able to tell due to my slow updates. But I hope it's gone away; I was able to write this, right? **


	16. Chapter 16

An Emerald

Chapter 16

By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

As I walked around Uiara's apartment, I was reminded of Packie. They both shared the same location for cocaine (or where Uiara _used_ to keep it); in the refrigerator. I found it strange, but the only reason I knew it was because I overheard Davi feeling Marie in on the recent happenings. I watched as she nodded, and listened to everything he said; she might as well have been his mother.

After a while, Davi went into a little hallway and was gone for a few minutes. During this time, Marie came over to talk to me. I was sitting on the couch, and she came and sat down next to me, propping her legs up on my lap. "So," she began. "what do you think of him?"

"He's...different." I answered. She chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, he's an odd little guy, but he's a sweetheart when he's happy. The same goes for Uiara, it's just that she's not usually in the greatest mood." She leaned her head back on the couch, thinking. "The only problem is, she's hard to keep track of. She's a binge addict, so she can just get some cocaine from down the street whenever she wants."

"My friend is the same. He does not care much for trying to get off the shit." I chuckled, a little darkly. Thinking of Packie made me a little annoyed. I still didn't like what he had said and done a couple days before. Now that I thought about it, everything had been moving so fast. It felt like it had only been a couple months, over the span of what was actually a few days. It was unsettling.

"So, what happened to Davi's father?" I asked. "Did he just leave?"

Marie paused. "Umm..." she bit her lip, looking nervous. "You could say that, yes. Uiara prefers I not talk about it. She...has a few secrets about that."

I stared at her, but shook my head. Who would I be to disturb a person's secrets? "I guess it would be a touchy subject." Marie nodded, giving an almost exasperated look.

"I don't know who he is, but she says that he's still here." she explained. "In the city. Works for a certain mob- who doesn't? But whoever it is, she doesn't think he'd want to know about a son anyway. Davi is doing alright with her." Marie smiled, and positioned her head on my chest. "And don't let him bother you. My bringing Dimitri and Alvaro here was...stupid." she said bluntly. But to be honest, I agreed with her. "But, we all do stupid things. Unfortunately Dimitri was particularly one of them."

"What's going on?" we heard a different voice ask. It startled Marie, who quickly snapped her head around.

It was Uiara, standing in the small hallway with Davi behind her. Marie quickly stood up, trying to be cheerful.

"I just came by to see how you were doing Uiara." she replied, smiling a little. She put her hand on Uiara's shoulder. "How's it been? Last time I saw you, I was to medicated to even remember my middle name."

Uiara chuckled at this, and her demeanor- which had been annoyed, seeing Marie on her couch- changed instantly. She seemed glad to have someone to talk to. "I know it, Marie." She turned to her son, and mumbled something to him. He nodded, and went to the kitchen area, and started pulling out cooking items. She was getting a late meal.

She sat down in a chair as Marie sat back down next to me. They started to talk, and I heard Marie explaining our situation to Uiara for the most part. I noticed Davi putting what looking like waffle batter into some sort of waffle skillet. The kid was obviously self-sufficient.

"Lora came to you a more than a few hours ago, right?" Marie asked. "I know we saw them at 4 AM, on now what would be two days ago thanks to Jacob's lamsbread." Uiara and her both laughed at the thought, and Uiara took out a pack of cigarettes from under a table and started to light one. Marie immediately stopped laughing, and glared at Uiara.

"Uiara, amiga, you're gonna have a heart attack one day, if you don't stop smoking. You told me you would." Marie sneered.

"Mhmm." Uiara simply grunted back, taking a long drag. After, she looked at Marie with a serious face. "And you're gonna get shot in the head, if you don't watch your mouth. And I said I would try, and I am. I'm taking it one step at a time." She took another exaggerated drag, and blew the smoke out towards Marie.

"Maria, sweetie I am getting stressed with all the shit that about to fall down around us. I'm working extra shifts, too, so that I can pay the rent. Davi," She turned around to face him, who glanced behind his shoulder, listening to his name. "is getting followed by somebody, and I don't want anyone touching my son. _Anyone_." Davi obviously knew what they were talking about, and just let it go as he continued to make his and his mother's breakfast.

"So, you might want to keep it low for a while, alright? Maybe you should move from Bohan- to Hove Beach or something. Somewhere near friends" I heard Marie continued the conversation this way; and for some reason, Uiara wasn't cooperating.

"But come on, Maria" I heard her say, in what sound like Portuguese. "it's not like Los Cabrones are gonna bust down my door. They don't know about any shit I've got to do with it, 'cept Diego, and he doesn't know where I live! I'm not moving just because some supreme asshole wants lives in an area _near_ the area I live in"

"Uiara, chica, listen to me! You know they're good at looking for people. They found me two days ago!" Marie gave her a knowing look, which Uiara simply averted her eyes for. "Just don't piss anyone off, alright? I don't wanna cover for you again." Marie looked irritated, and believe me; when you don't listen to her, if she knows she's right, she will become the shittiest person you've ever met.

"Whatever." Uiara waved her off, and walked over to where Davi was. Marie was left with her mouth hanging open, and closed it when Uiara had decided to stop listening.

"Davi, meu caro, you pour it this way..." I heard Uiara chattering to her son as Marie rubbed her h ead.

"You alright?" I asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. "You look annoyed."

"I am." she grumbled. "Uiara is bound to run into someone, and it matters who. They might not even recognize her; or they might chase her with a baseball bat." Marie sighed, and looked up at the two people in the kitchen. Davi was smiling a little, as his mom was talking with him, and they would both laugh a little. They looked happy, but there was still that feeling of worry in the air. I could see it in Marie's face.

She, however, decided to give up on that line of conversation. She huffed out a breath. "Ok, well, Uiara, we gotta go see Lora and Jacob. I know they went to you yesterday, but that lamsbread really knocked me and Niko out."

"Sure." Uiara called. "Just call me later, ok? I gotta talk to you about something else."

Marie gave her a look. "Why not just talk about here? I came to check up on you, if something is bothering-"

"Ssshh!" Uiara mouthed. Davi looked at us funny, but turned back to the task at hand. Uiara smiled at him, and patted him on the back. She walked over to Marie, the smile gone.

"It's about his father, Marie!" she hissed under her breath. "I saw him, and...I..."

She kept looking at me, as if she wanted me to go away. I got the message. "Hey, Marie, I'll just wait outside, alright?"

"Ok, Niko. I'll be there in a minute." she gave me that grin, and then turned back to Uiara.

As I walked out the door, I heard them starting to whisper again. A few of the guys were still in the apartment stairway, but not the same ones as before. These guys were just sitting, talking.

I waited a good 8 minutes, and then Marie came out of the apartment. She might as well have just come back from a battlefield.

"God, Uiara is an _idiot_!" she said loudly. A few of the guys looked over at her, and one hissed a curse under his breath. Marie must have notice, because she nudged me in the other direction. "Let's get out of here, I'll tell you what happened in a minute. Screw Uiara and her secret..."

She kept mumbling until we got to the car, and then slammed the door as we got in the car. "Alright," she started. "here's the deal. Uiara didn't tell Davi's dad he existed, right? Well, she saw him again, at the hospital. It was that day that your..._friend_" she force out the word, "started being an asshole at your apartment. Remember?"

"Yeah, Pa-" I was cut off by her nod of the head and quick talking.

"Yeah, you remember. Later on that day, Davi's father- yeah, she recognized him, checked to make sure it was him, everything- showed up in the hospital. He's a binge addict too, and he had just ingested a whole lot of cocaine that day. He knows Jacob, and Jacob was actually the one that brought him in, surprisingly. Uiara said he- Jacob- was looking nervous, for once, but nothing serious. Since Uiara knew how to take care of him, she helped him out- the other guy- so that he wouldn't injure himself or something." Marie stopped, for a momentary breath, then continued.

"To make this a whole lot shorter" Yes, I thought, please do. "she hooked up with him afterwards. Again. And she had ran out of birth control pills the day before. So now" Marie looked towards Uiara building, throwing her hands up in the air. "She might be pregnant, _again_, and she can't find the guy. He's the type of person that likes to sleep around a lot, and not have anything to do with you after that. And now she's not only getting binge feelings again, she wanted to introduce Davi to him. And now, she can't find him."

Marie had stopped explaining, and was now breathing regularly. She looked at me, waiting for my input. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to say.

"This." I said this slowly, trying to choose my words. "is...confusing. How does this pertain to us?"

Marie looked like she might hit something, but then she just sighed, and put on her seat belt. "It doesn't really. I'm just...I worry a lot."

"I can tell." I said. "But, who is the father, anyway?"

"It was just some guy." Marie replied. "Some person she met way back, before Davi. You might not know him, even though I know Jacob does. He might have mentioned him before. His part of that Irish mob; Irish American Killers? They're in Dukes, and Broker, Purgatory too. His name...what was it...she called him some nickname. I think it was...McReary! That was it! Packie McReary!"


	17. Chapter 17

An Emerald

Chapter 17

By: The New Girl Of Lycanthropy

I didn't drive any further.

How did she forget about this?

"Niko?"

I turned to her while trying to decide between yelling or laughing. I really didn't know how she could not remember, after having had an encounter only two days ago, who Packie McReary was. She said the name herself, for Christ's sake.

"Niko?" Marie put her hand on my shoulder. "Did I say something?"

I chuckled, putting my elbows on the wheel and my hands to my forehead. "Well, yes, Marie, you did say something." Her blank stare just told me that she was completely lost. I chuckled once again.

"Marie," I took her shoulders in my hands. "think about the name you just mentioned. Does that not ring a bell in your head?"

The blank stare stayed on her face while she mumbled. "... McReary … McReary …" She shook her head. "Niko, what are you getting at?"

God damn. "Marie!" I exclaimed, full out laughing now. Not that it was terribly funny, what she had just told me. Then I processed that, quickly changing my demeanor. "Shit."

"What?" She looked annoyed now. "Niko, I really don't know what to say! Just tell me who it is!"

"Marie, Packie McReary!" I pronounced each syllable for her, something I don't think she appreciated given her expression. "Packie? The screaming asshole who walked into my apartment?"

Her eyes widened all of a sudden. I guess it finally clicked. "Oh, _ohhh_. _That's_ Packie McReary?" She was a bit stunned, for sure. Probably feeling stupid; I would, too.

"Aw, shit." She was the one chuckling now. Her elbow was propped up against the windowsill, holding her head. It had begun to rain outside, with water drizzling down the car and giving a gray reflection to the window. "Oh hoho, shit."

She continued to mumble, and as I had last time, I simply started the car, figuring she would finish mumbling to herself and talk more about this in a couple minutes.

Rain in Liberty City was actually one of the things I liked about it. The windshield wipers going across sleek glass, with every now toned down to gray because of the sky color. It was relaxing to me. Perhaps it was to Marie to; she didn't mumble as much as last time this had happened. I heard her sigh a few times before turning to look out the window. Instead of being irritated, she now seemed a concentrated on something. Deep thought, I suppose.

"Okay … okay …" She was talking to me now, trying to put her words into sentences. "Ah … so … Niko, I'm trying to not judge this guy, because I know he's your friend. But to be honest, he seems to be an asinine crackhead. Literally."

I felt like I should have jumped to Packie's defense. Told Marie that she was right, she shouldn't be judging him. But I hesitated. I thought of the only things I had seen him do recently. It almost made me want to agree with her.

But then I remembered the times before. Before everything got messed up to the point of almost no return. When I was still his best friend.

"Marie, then don't." I glanced at her momentarily while turning a corner. Uiara's apartment had been located in East Holland; though there had not been a cat nearby, I had heard her mention at one point to Marie "el nivel de cabrones" (whatever that had meant) that was in North Holland, and that she would not take Davi there. I assumed she meant the gang activity, and if she did I gave her credit on her thinking. Being of African-American and Portuguese descent would definitely make it easier for her to live in East Holland. And North Holland was no place to raise a kid.

"Packie is not really an asshole." I informed her. "He likes to make you feel like shit when he feels like shit, or at least lets you know. But he wouldn't want you to feel terrible. Any friend of his has backup," I raised my eyebrow. "once you have his respect."

Marie almost seemed to be glaring. "Really? Because I really didn't get the impression that he had much respect for you at all."

Thankfully it was a red light when she said that, or I might have been tempted to hit the brakes. I heard her curse under her breath.

"Niko, I'm sorry. I know about what happened, and I understand why you both are upset." For a moment, she looked at me straight in the eye. I took my own off the road to meet her gaze. There was care in her eyes, understanding of the situation. She accepted Kate. "I just get very defensive. Its part of who I am, how I deal with people. But, I might have judged wrong."

I felt my own face soften a bit. At least she admitted it. I nodded towards her and shared a moment of peace looking into her eyes. I now noticed that the her irises were a dark hazel, with tints of a lighter shade as they neared her pupil. A car behind me layed on the horn ending my- our- moment.

"Argh!" My face contorted itself once again. I flipped off the driver behind me, muttering curses in my native tongue. Marie sighed and layed back in her seat.

"I should probably continue. If he really is that great a friend," she murmured. "you'll want to her the rest."

I looked back and forth between her the the windshield. "Well?" I asked. "I'm … how do you say that? I'm all ears."

I saw a smirk cross her face for one second.

"Uiara hooked up with Packie just a day or two ago, I honestly don't remember whether she told me right after she saw us or not." Marie waved her hand. "But the point is, they didn't use protection, and Uiara is paranoid that she's pregnant, again. Which would be bad."

"She's a single mother, nurse, minority, binge addict, and living in East Holland." she said, almost a little bitterly. "She can't afford to have another baby. Not many friends can help her right now because of their own problems. Davi is already being tailed by some people, like you heard, and she needs to make sure he doesn't get involved with anyone either."

"Why did she hook up with him the first place?" I asked bluntly.

Marie gave me a look. "They're binge addicts that had sex before, and he doesn't know that he has a son- if that's his only son." I let that comment slide. "Why wouldn't they hook up again? Mutual interests and attractions."

I felt her staring at me again. This time I did not turn around. I knew what she was thinking, about us hooking up after only knowing each other for a few short days. Were we any better? Or the same?

"Anyways" she turned away continuing her explanation. "she doesn't know what to do. Neither do I. I'm just worried about all of this Niko, and I don't want the shit to hit the fan."

She corrected herself after realizing what she had just said. "Well, I don't want anymore to hit."

I found myself smirking as well. Not with good humour. "God …" I sighed.

We had reached what used to be Playboy X's apartment, in Northwood. I stepped out of the car, and went around to open the door for Marie. "Gentlemanly." she said, surprised.

"I'm not that pissed." I scoffed. A giggle burst from her lips, leaning up to kiss mine. We moved out of the way of the other cars. Instead of going into the apartment Marie turned, pushing her hand against my chest.

"Wait a minute." I stood a couple inches taller than her so she had to look up. "Niko, will you tell Packie about this?"

Oh. I had not thought about that. "Um …" Her eyes wouldn't move away from my face.

I thought Packie deserved to know, for sure. It was his son after all. How could he afford not to know? Especially if Uiara was pregnant, again.

A shifted slightly. But wait. What if Packie didn't care? He had never cared about any women he slept with past the time he woke up. None have them had ever reported back with pregnancy- I almost laughed at the though of how many other children Packie could have- never giving him any reason to think of it. Would he even bother to help.

"Heh, Marie," I put my arm around her shoulder, forcing her hand back down to her side. However, her gaze remained stagnant. "this is not something we should talk about, because I have to tell you, I do not know."

"Niko!" Her voice hissed. "You can't tell him. Uiara has a right to privacy!"

I gave her a look. "Its his kid- or _kids_, Marie." Of course he would have to find out eventually.

"Niko, how do you know he would care, huh?" Slipping out of my grasp, she approached me with her hands on her hips. "You know how many kids there are running around Liberty City who's fathers don't know and wouldn't care to know who they are?"

"Yes, I do." If she would get defensive, so would I. "You care about Davi though, yes?"

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed, offeneded. "I just don't-"

"Then why would you take away a chance for him to know his father?"

My question simply hung in the air. Marie was at a loss of words, for once. Her lips twisted in and out of an O-shape, struggling to collect herself. I softened my look a bit.

"I know you think it is for Davi, Marie. I also know why you would think that about Packie. To be honest, I am wondering the same thing."

Realizing that we had both been thinking about Packie in the same light made Marie a bit more calm. Her hands dropped down, though her stance didn't.

"Then what, Niko?" The tone of her voice had almost no feeling to it. It was a blunt question. "You gonna have Davi get his hopes up only to have his father bail? Or have Uiara try to function without the hope that Packie would help her?"

Looking at her face I knew she could be right. What was at the moment a small flame of hope from Uiara and Davi, that she would be able to give a good home to her children, and for him that he could have a father, could so easily be extinguished if Packie found out too much too soon.

"I do not know." I mumbled. I groaned and tilted my head back, putting my hands up in the air, closing my eyes. "God, I am so sick of not knowing what will happen."

After a minute, I heard a small huff from Marie. Before I could open my eyes she was already on her toes, stretching to reach my hands. I felt the soft skin of her fingers clasp my own rough, tired palms. I opened my eyes to find myself nose to nose with her.

Her eyes were connected with mine yet again. They were the only things that filled my vision, what was straight in front of me. My peripheral vision was taken up by the smooth cheekbones of her face. "Aren't we all?" she whispered.

Putting my arms down, I hugged her close. I didn't know why, but I had been very emotional lately with Marie. What was the reason?

"We will figure this out later, Niko." Marie whispered in my ear. I release her from my grasp, allowing her toes to sink back down into place. "Anyways," she flipped her hair behind her back. "why are we here? I thought we were going to see Lora and Jacob."

I blinked at her question. Looking around I realized that I had no reason for coming back to Northwood; the conversation had taken hold of most of my attention at the time. I noticed a few people across the street staring at us. At first, I thought they were tourists, bitterly thought that if they traveled to far in the Hollands and Northwood of Algonquin, it would be a miracle if they were not mugged.

After taking a closer look though, I realized that they weren't acting like the usual, ignorant tourist. Both were women. I took in their immediate looks, placing my hand on the small of Marie's back.

"Wait?" she asked, sensing my caution. Her guard was up immediately; out of the corner of my eye I saw her shift the purse she carried up her shoulder, putting the other hand to the zipper. Perhaps she had a weapon.

The two women caught me looking at them, and casually turned away. One was taller, with thin, short, bluntly cut black hair. Sunglasses shaded both of their eyes.

The other looked strangely familiar. Her hair was a mahogany brown, also short and with two clips pulling some hair out from the front of her face. She wore the most familiar button up black jacket.

"Michelle?" I hissed.

"What?" Marie murmured. I felt her squirming, but she didn't walk away. "Who's Michelle?"

What were they doing here? They couldn't have been checking up on me- could they? I had done their work for them , and after Darko Brevic and Kate's death they had not bothered me at all over all seven months. My mind did not work well enough at that moment to supply Marie with a proper response- fuck, I didn't even know what I proper response would be at this point.

"Niko …" Marie pronounced my name slowly, as if someone were listening to us. I figured that they were far enough away that they would not see or hear us do anything.

"Marie, let's get inside." I said slowly, still looking in their direction to see if they would come back. I could feel the nerves pouring off Marie, but she cooperated. We turned back around, and I held my hand to her back the whole time we walked inside.

Too many things were happening at once. A possible war with a Cuban gang. Packie having a kid, possibly one more. Marie, new to my life, and for some reason making me feel more emotional than I had been in a long time. Mallorie and Roman, trying to raise a child in the midst of her family member's mistakes. And now this- Michelle, and mystery woman, appearing near my apartment, when I had been with Marie. She had seen Marie. She now knew what to look for.

I suddenly felt very territorial, protective. I was sick of Michelle being in my personal life, which I had done my best to block her from. I couldn't deal with her fucking it up even more than she had before. I tightened my grip on Marie, looking down at her face.

She didn't look up, but I knew she knew I was looking. I studied her face, only to find a surprise. She was worrying as well. Her lips trembled a bit, but not in sadness. Nerves were getting to her right now, and I would later find out that her body did not respond well to such nerves at times.

"Marie?" She still didn't look up. I don't know if it was because she was afraid, of betraying some hidden emotion, or if she simply did not want to look at me out of frustration. Whatever it was, it wasn't anger, at least.

I pulled her close. At first, she was a bit stiff. But she did not pull away. Instead she did the opposite.

She leaned her head on my shoulder, burying her face against it. Hiding, just for a few seconds, from the pain.

"I will make this better for us Marie." I whispered so softly that she probably didn't hear me. It just mattered to me that I said it. "I will make it work. Even if in the end, we don't know."

**Author Here!: **Okay, so I know its a bit, erm, messy, but I just haven't had time at ALL to write, and I've been experience writers' block, and a whole bunch of other things. But I have to say that I'm quite proud of myself for at least trying to write, and I'm going to salvage this story and give you guys something better. So here's a filler of sorts, and I would appreciate any kind of reviews- criticism, or compliment. Something to help me out? Please? Thanks guys!


	18. Chapter 18

An Emerald

Chapter 18

By: The New Girl of Lycanthropy

Once we got inside, I could tell Marie was trying to sort out various feelings. I did not want to make her feel anything extra; for all I knew, she was rethinking helping us in general.

And then she surprised me.

"Niko," she turned to me, putting her hands on my shoulder. "I really like you."

I blinked, then tried to respond to such a blunt statement. "Well … I hope so Marie."

Normally she might have laughed at my no-shit answer; but she kept looking me in the eyes. "When I touch you, I get that sweet feeling when …"

I knew what she meant. She would have wanted to finish her own sentence, considering at an important description. But I finished it anyways.

"When you're just thinking how great it feels to touch them?" I finished. It was her turn to blink, and then she nodded her head.

"I know we've talked about it." She recounted. "But really. I've had doubts about people in my past before." She swallowed, nervous. "Somehow though, I find myself with very, _very_ few doubts about you."

Her face was mature. She knew what she was talking about.

Suddenly, I knew what she must have been feeling. She didn't want assurance, at least not of the verbal kind. She didn't want me to explain what I had seen outside that had made me rush her in, or who the women were. In fact, she probably least wanted to know who the women were. Marie wanted something comforting, for once.

I had no problem with what she wanted.

"This is how you deal with nervousness?" I questioned. The question may have sounded vague, but between the two of us, it was finally understood.

"Well, it is a good release, don't you think?" She wasn't smiling. Yet.

I pondered this. Marie was a lot of things. She was nervous. Ambitious. Smart, Beautiful. But one thing that always surprised me, for the rest of our lives, was how absolutely _sexual_ she was. Which was fine with me. I was right up there with her.

"You know, Marie," slowly, I slid my arms around her hips, reaching for her backside. "I thought American girls were either complete whores or too conservative." Marie raised an eyebrow. "You, however, are neither."

"You got it wrong." she stated. Her hands went from my shoulders to my sides, sliding up and down, until she got to the bottom of my shirt. I felt cool nail go under it and smooth their way across my bare skin. "We're just that human."

"Then why are most of them not like you?"

We were teasing each other. I usually did not tease my women before having sex with them. But something about the entire day made me and Marie turn into creatures that we only became every once in a while. This time, we were not clouded by alcohol.

It made it better.

"Because we're an endangered species." she whispered, leaning forward to speak in my ear. "I'm one of the last, real American girls."

After that, neither of us could help ourselves.

I pulled her against me quickly. I kissed. She licked. We both thrust our hips together. It was like some sort of energy had suddenly taken over.

Near the end, when our clothes were strewn on the floor, and it was near the highest point of ecstasy, we both said each others names. It wasn't like before, in my other apartment; that had been good, yes, but it was more animal. This was as well, but there was some connection to it. A connection too deep for either of us to touch, but we knew it was there.

When she wasn't drunk, Marie's voice octaves went high and low.

Later, I slung my arm across her chest. This seemed to be a comfortable position for us both. She moved closer to me, making it easy to be warm. It was April, but every once in a while a cold night would hit. Tonight was one of those nights.

After sleeping for so long, I woke up to a good morning. The sunlight looked different.

I blinked, and lifted my back up slightly from the bed. What was so different? I didn't feel intimidated by my surroundings at all. I just wanted to know.

There's a shuffle in the sheets beside me, as Marie wakes. I turn and watch her, her hand crawling up to the pillow where my head should be. Finding it empty, I see her eyes open in confusion.

"Mmm," she groans, and almost gets up, until I decided to let her know where I am.

"Hello, Marie." I lay back down on her hand. Feeling my head, she smiles and moves her hand, caressing my face.

"Hmm, hi." She giggles. Even I smile a bit. This morning is happy.

But I turn back to look at the sun streaming in. Everything still seems so similar to any other day. I slip my hand around Marie's waist, pulling her a little closer.

Seeing my eyes look away, she traces my line of sight to the window. "What is it?" she questions.

"I'm not sure." I reply. It's something that would make me feel uncomfortable- telling someone there was something different about the sunlight. I must be going a bit crazy.

Her hair rustles as she turns her head from me, to the window, and back to me. "Tell me." It's not a demand, but she expects cooperation. Sighing, I try to explain, figuring putting it simply would be best. "The sun looks different."There is a pause between us, and I can feel Marie stop still for a minute. The, she blurts

"The sun?"

"Yes." I almost roll my eyes; I knew it would be odd.

"Whataya mean the sun?"

"It just looks different." Now, I feel ridiculous. I turn towards her face, and I notice the sunlight in question hit her at just the right angle; brunette curls are now glowing with a couple gold strands. "Better, I just don't know why."

Twisting her lips, Marie lays her head down on my chest. After a couple minutes, she bends her chin up towards me. "Maybe you're just noticing it in a different way." I look back down at her, and she seems completely serious. "You know, enjoying the sight."

She turns away, and nestles her head comfortably on my chest once again, while I sit swimming in confusion. Enjoying sunlight? How do you in enjoy sunlight?

As soon I ask myself the question, I realize that was what I had been doing. Enjoying the sunlight.

I'm not sure what it means, or if it means anything at all. Maybe just that something had changed, or perhaps it was just me and Marie, waking up, that made me notice it.

The last few mornings, waking up with Marie, I had felt general ease. Nothing like the last few months, waking up with nothing but frustration at the depression of my life. I had thought of too many things to be comfortable even remembering them; I was, honestly, a bit happier now.

Though my track record with hookers wasn't great; and I wasn't a man to believe in fairytales; which this certainly wasn't. The fast pace of our relationship was not expected. I had a woman living with me now. It made me wonder how it would have been if me and Kate had ever gotten the opportunity to go through with our chance. It could be similar or completely different, but I would never know.

I smoothed out Marie's hair, and it made me feel a little better.


End file.
